Star Wars: What Might Have Been
by TheMuleteer
Summary: Alternate Universe: What is the power of chance? And what does the Force have to do with it? Bad Summary. Please Read and Review.
1. What Might Have Been

Note: This universe which I so dearly love is Lucas's, and his alone. However, I do believe it our right to have our own take on what might have been.

* * *

_Foreword:_

What Might Have Been

This is the power of chance: 

Chance is the most fickle thing known. Sometimes, it is a mere 50-50 odds bet. Other times, it is the rolling of a loaded red-and-blue dice to see what slave will be freed. But chance has the power of throwing a wild card in the deck; a Jedi that rolls the dice just right to beat the load and make it come up blue. And in this way, fate, through chance, can be altered by outside factors, be they Jedi, the force placed into the coin-flip...or an idea.

An idea is such a small, simple thing. It is a mere electrical spark in the mind-some illumination or fantasy that is of the owner's design. But such a small, simple thing can have such far-reaching, awesome consequences.

As the event occurs, something happens. It is not recognizable or noticeable. But it is there. It is so small that it would evade all those who searched for it, but in time, it shall become so great that, as far as it is known, it has always been there.

It is a shift in the field of reality. Some small change that causes incredible change from the planned course of time. A nudge in a different direction. A twist from the universe that they dwell in into one of the multiverse parallel to them.

The multiverse is an idea of quantum physics. It is the idea that every event, no matter how big or small, spawns from chance. For example, one universe where Yoda and Luke meet. Another where they do not.

One universe where Anakin falls to the Dark Side. Another where he does not.

One where Han Solo scratches an itch on his backside. One where he does not.

Any chance-big or small. But in this multiverse, anything becomes possible. Even taking an idea, implementing it, and in so doing, deviating from the world that we know.

And the idea is no longer just an idea, but instead, reality.

This is the power of chance.

* * *

Author's Note: Out of the following chapters, most of them have borrowed, heavily at times, from both Matthew Stover and souderwan-an author on this site.


	2. Episode I: Misfires

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

* * *

The lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Darth Maul rages. 

Thousands of kilometers away, the Gungan army engages the droid armies of the Federation.

Not far from the clash of lightsabers, the Trade Federation viceroy sits in the Naboo throne room, glowering at the evicted Queen.

To Lord Sidious, all is going as planned.

* * *

Then fate steps in. 

A Naboo gunner follows the Jedi and Sith at a distance, waiting for a clean shot to save his Jedi saviors.

A droid aims it's blaster rifle at a target.

An expatriate Queen pulls several blasters out of her throne.

* * *

Obi-Wan swung, then parried fast as he could. Damned if this Sith would defeat him. But damned if he was going to beat the Sith, either. 

He and Qui-Gon were running out of strength, and the Sith, powered by rage, had no end in sight. Perhaps they could drive him into that power generator, but they could be separated by those laser walls, and then...

A sudden warning came through the Force. Obi-Wan ducked-not a moment too soon, as the Sith stabbed his lightsaber at Kenobi's head. Then Obi-Wan looked up at the Zabrak, glaring. But the Zabrak Sith did not glare back.

It is, after all, difficult to glare if one does not have a face to glare with.

The laser blast echoed as the Sith fell to the floor, his lightstaff going out as he did. Behind them, a Naboo soldier stood, armed with a blaster rifle.

* * *

Jar-Jar Binks ran. What else could he do? The Droid Army was charging after him, and he was no soldier, let alone a general. Then there as the realization that if he did nothing, he and his friends would die. Armed with new determination, he swung back to the battlefield— 

And suddenly, pain. He fell to the ground as he felt a burn in his side. He rolled over. A droid stepped up, and raised it's blaster. Jar-Jar, in his last moments, guessed that they'd die anyway.

Then the droid fired. And there was nothingness.

* * *

"Viceroy! Your occupation here has ended!" Right on time, Sabé shot three droids and ran off. 

"Get her! This one's a decoy!" Viceroy Gunray ordered his droids into motion. Then, Padmé leapt to her desks, and pressed the hidden button. Three blaster pistols came out. One went to her, another to Captain Panaka, a final to a soldier. "Captain!" She shouted as she shot at droids.

Then a droid fired at her. She ducked behind some tall cloth-like object, and it fired again—

Into Viceroy Gunray's chest. Gunray groaned and fell, dead.

* * *

In his Coruscant hideaway, Senator Palpatine-Darth Sidious-roared. All had failed. Lightning flew from his hands in rage as he screamed in anger into the night. He felt the Dark-Side energies overpowering him, channeling through him. He knew that it was devouring his body, destroying him. He knew it was as good as a signal fire to the Jedi. 

He knew that he didn't care. All had failed.

Darth Maul was dead. He'd never have enough time to train another Sith Lord from birth. Worse yet, the Zabrak had been so overconfident that he'd not been killed by the Jedi, but by a Naboo boy with a gun. Disgraceful.

Jar-Jar Binks was dead. He'd seen the future, where a Separatist state was formed, and he'd use it as an excuse to remain in office long past his term expiration. Then the conflict would have escalated, and Jar-Jar Binks, as acting-Senator of Naboo, would have given Palpatine emergency powers. No longer.

Viceroy Gunray was dead. He'd have no army. And in that, no Separatist movement. And in that, no chance to hold onto office.

_Damn, damn, DAMN!_

Then he heard repulsorlifts outside. He snarled.

Jedi were here. Lots of them.

* * *

"Sense him, do you, Master Windu?" Yoda peered through the dark. 

"No way that I can; the Force is clouded so heavily here. I can see the shatterpoint lines leading to him, though. Follow me." The Korun Master took the lead as the entire Jedi Council charged the building. They had sensed the sheer power in this one man.

They were taking no chances.

Mace Windu followed the Force to a room at the top of the old tower. He stopped there for a number of reasons. One, the building went no higher. Two, he could no longer see the shatterpoint lines.

Three, the Force was so dark here it was blacker than stellar night.

The Jedi formed behind him in a semi-circle. Then he and Yoda raised their hands.

The door was built as part of an industrial complex. It was therefore, made to withstand an incredible blast. As was the entire room past it. In fact, the entire building could collapse, and this office would remain intact. The engineers had planned for everything.

Everything that is, except for the two most powerful Jedi in the Order.

The door crumpled miserably. It appeared to have been weakened from inside. The Jedi stepped through to see...

Senator Palpatine.

"Welcome, my Jedi friends," he spat in a voice they'd never heard, from a face they'd never seen-both laced with the utmost contempt. They remembered Palpatine as a friend of the Jedi, a man for whom politeness was always his facial set. A man of integrity.

Apparently, appearances can be deceiving.

"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest, Senator," Mace said as he approached. "Do not resist."

"Hah." With that, all but Yoda and Mace were shoved out the door and sealed outside as a red blade shot from the diseased Senator's hand.

Regretfully, green and violet blades shimmered into existence. Yoda flew through the air with incredible speed, but with one good kick, Palpatine sent him into a wall where he went straight through. The wall sealed itself, locking Yoda out. It was only Mace and Palpatine.

* * *

Mace Windu is the Jedi's last warrior. The last hold against a Sith menace. He knows that the fate of the galaxy is on his shoulders. He knows the price of failure. 

So he will not fail.

* * *

Palpatine fights with rage. Mace matches it. His Form Seven Vaapad channels the power of emotion into his fighting technique. And Palpatine is slowly, inexorably, driven back, until a random swing breaks through the transparisteel. Palpatine leaps through. Mace follows as the room seals itself again, trapping them outside. 

The duel on the roof is fierce, long, and quite a show. It is not long before a crowd of speeders watch the fight.

Then, in an unorthodox move, Mace blocks Sidious's swing, then swings inward, under Palpatine's saber guard. Palpatine's only move is to lunge back.

Over the edge. Mace grins wanly.

But this is not over. As he lunges off the edge, he pulls in the Force. Mace falls with him. And the fight goes on.

It is a long, long fall to the surface.

Skyscrapers plunge into the darkness as they continue, until they are so deep in the planet that the only light is that of a violet and a red saber.

When they hit bedrock, the fight goes on. Faces are slit open. Hands are lost. A leg is lost. Then there is a grunt, a scream, and the only light is that of a violet saber.

The light is triumphant.

But Mace does not kill Palpatine. That would be far too merciful. Instead, he is left to die in the depths of Coruscant. It will not be pleasant.

And it is a long way to the surface. And Mace Windu begins his slow, broken trek back to the Jedi Temple.

After three weeks, he sees light. And then he feels something-the Force becoming clear.

Palpatine is dead.

* * *

"Entirely clear, the boy's fate is not. Clouded by Palpatine's influence, it seems, it was not," Yoda said softly in the Council Chamber. Beside him was a medical droid that showed signs of being beaten terribly with a stick of some sort-its patient was not interested in being treated. 

Mace Windu sat in his chair, weary and scarred. He'd been scarred repeatedly by the swings of Sidious's lightsaber, and had lost his left hand to it in a moment of distraction. Plus the emotional and physical scarring of not just a Sith battle, but also a several kilometer trek to the surface through what could never truly be described.

He was calm, though. The Force helped him heal fast, and he was here to see the thing he'd lobbied so hard for.

"You were right, Qui-Gon. He is the Chosen One. But we cannot see who the Sith is that he must kill, with Palpatine and the Zabrak dead. But we will allow him to be trained."

* * *

THIRTEEN YEARS LATER

* * *

"Qui-Gon, this is not wise." 

"No, it is not, Anakin. But it must be done," Qui-Gon said to Anakin. He looked proudly at the lad. He was tall, powerful, charismatic-everything of a Jedi poster boy. And his escapades were that of legend now. He'd saved a Hapan princess, earning him major credit in both the Hapes Consortium and the Republic. He'd saved the day at Naboo all those years ago. His escapades were far too many to list, and every one a rousing success.

There was one thing, though, that only he, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Siri Tachi, his own former Master Dooku, and Nejaa Halcyon knew-that Anakin Skywalker, poster boy of the Jedi Order, was married. Married, no less, to the Chancellor, Padmé Amidala. And they were expecting children.

And the lot of them, the four Masters and two Knights, were assigned to go into the Coruscant depths, and find the Sith Lord.

This Sith Lord had clouded their senses only a year after Anakin's acceptance into the Jedi Order. Whomever it was, it was powerful, and dangerous.

"Do you believe it necessary to send the six of us after one Sith Lord?" This question asked by Nejaa Halcyon.

"Well, you will recall, Master Halcyon, that the last Sith Lords the Order faced required massive luck to defeat. We will not have that. Plus, you do remember Master Windu when he returned from these depths?" Dooku asked Halcyon. They all did-not the most pleasant memory of him.

"Either that," Obi-Wan put in, "or they're just looking for a way to get the six of us out of the way."

Siri rewarded the comment with a smack to the back of the head. He glared at her.

But it was her right to smack him; he was her husband, after all.

And Obi-Wan did have a point-they were all rule-breakers, though he doubted any on the Council but Yoda knew of the rules they'd all broken.

For Dooku and Qui-Gon, only Yoda was old enough to recall all the trouble they caused.

For Anakin, Obi-Wan, Siri, and Nejaa, they had all married. Nejaa had a child, Valin, and Anakin was expecting one any time now. He could only imagine the uproar _that_ would cause.

But to focus on the task at hand. They'd been so deep in their musings to not sense the approach of four other individuals.

"Greetings, Jedi." The voice stopped them. It was cold, ruthless...mean. Then it's owner stepped forward. "There is one for the couple," he spat the word, "one for the old men," he grinned harshly, "one for the Corellian, and one," he pointed at Skywalker, "for you."

Darth Maul bared his teeth. "Draw your sabers, lovebirds." Obi-Wan stared. This was not the Zabrak shot in the head on Naboo-no, it was a clone-one that, evidently, was not mute. His blue saber ignited, joined by Siri's, as Maul's signature lightstaff blazed into existence.

Another man stepped forward. In a gentlemanly voice, he said, "I am not as interested in a duel. Your swords, please-we don't want to make a mess of things in front of the children. Do not believe you can defeat Darth Tyranus." The next Sith smiled evilly. It was a twisted form of Dooku-dressed in black with a cape chained about his neck. Even his curved handle was Dooku's, though the red blade was not. Another clone. The green blades of Dooku and Jinn rose to meet the red onslaught.

To meet Nejaa was a different creature-still a clone. He stiffened visibly. It was an Anzati. "Nikkos Tyris." A blue blade came from the Anzati's hands, and was held upside down. Nejaa groaned and engaged.

Leaving Anakin. He stared ahead as his enemy revealed himself. It was a clone. A man, tall, with long hair. His robes were black as night, with gold highlights. His lightsaber was also black and gold. The gold nicely accented the yellow eyes he had. Eyes that bore into his own.

Eyes that _were_ his own.

"Hello, Anakin." The Dark Anakin spoke. "I, as you can see, am you. This is your future, Anakin. I am Darth Vader. And I will kill you, if you do not kill me." His lightsaber ignited with Anakin's-but instead of red, blue met blue.

* * *

The duels were the fiercest of the Jedis' lives. 

Dooku and Jinn were no longer young, and even Jinn's athletic Form IV and Dooku's elegant Form II were straining against the unrelenting power of Tyranus's Dark-Side powered Form II. The one advantage was that Tyranus was not young, either. Not much of an advantage, though—more of a field-leveler.

Kenobi and Tachi were straining against Maul. Even though they'd trained together ever since that day where they'd realized their love, and become two halves of one whole, much the way Obi-Wan was with Anakin, they were fighting hard. Obi-Wan's Form III and Siri's own elegant Form II were straining against Maul's staff variant of Form VII. And rage-powered, he was almost unstoppable. And there was no gunner to save the day—just them.

Nikkos Tyris used an odd form where he had his left hand on the hilt fairly close to the blade, but the blade itself extended out and down from his hand to the ground. His right was on the pommel. An odd form, but a nasty one; it was taking every trick in Nejaa's book to survive.

Then there was Anakin. There was no way he could defeat himself either way; both used Form V, and both used rage to their advantage. It was a stalemate. But Anakin refused to release the dragon in his heart-if he did, he knew he'd become Vader.

_But I am your only way to victory. If you do not use me, you will die. And with you, the others_, the dragon hissed into his ear.

_No, I will not. There has to be another way. What was it that Yoda said about loss?_

_Oh, yes_-_what you fear to lose, train yourself to release. Let go, and accept._

_Accept._

There was a pause when Anakin used his power in the Force to raise an energy shield of sorts between him and Vader. But Vader knew this trick and began to batter it down. Before Vader's blade had even begin to attack he opened his eyes further in the Force and could see through lidded eyes, the surging crimson flames of the dark side engulfing the Sith. He could also see the bright sky-blue flames of the light side of the Force that surrounded himself. He could see the blue plasma emanating from the hilt of the most devastating yet elegant weapon ever designed.

With crystalline clarity, realization dawned.

_Accept,_ the Force whispered to him, as if to confirm his thought.

The dragon pounded against its chains deep in the Jedi's chest. It fought for release as it kicked and howled. Only his iron will and the light side of the Force had enabled him to contain it. Only his fear of the dark side had fueled that will. Anakin considered his fears for the briefest of moments.

His fear of loss.

His fear of death.

His fear of failure.

Then Anakin Skywalker let them all go. He looked into the dragon's eyes for the first time in his life without fear or rage. He stared at the dragon as he unhinged its chains. He smiled inwardly at the dragon as he admitted to himself, finally…that the dragon did not really exist. Behind the dragon that had guarded his heart and fed off his passion, the Jedi saw the furnace that was the source of his power. After an eternity of denial, Anakin Skywalker opened the gates of that furnace and did what he knew he must do…

He accepted.

* * *

Vader watched as Anakin changed. He no longer showed the blue fire of the Light Side with the red dragon chained in him-nor was he the red he'd hoped for. No, this was worse-he had become a fine purple-the image of acceptance. 

_Oh no, not good_.

Anakin became incredible. He mirrored Vader's attacks and parries, until he was inside Vader's guard. He glared at himself. "It is inevitable," Vader snarled.

"Perhaps. But then, so is this-" Anakin rolled the blade off Vader's-

And straight into Vader's shoulder. In, through, and beyond.

Anakin watched himself die. Bizarre, really. But he saw the duels other than his. He saw the men handling themselves, but Obi-Wan and Siri were faltering. Then Darth Maul shoved them down, and rose his blade to kill-

And was stopped by red and blue blades. Anakin frowned at the familiarity yet strangeness of Vader's weapon. But it _was_ his, after all, and he examined the bottom-

_Yes_. The two sabers snapped together, and he mirrored Maul's Form VII technique. The blue-red blaze that was Anakin's staff was an incredible display as Siri attacked the Anzati, and Obi-Wan went after Tyranus.

Meanwhile, Anakin smiled as he lashed out, kicking Maul in the gut, shoving him off a small fall to a platform below. Anakin followed, as he watched Maul. He parted his blades and met swings, blocking with red, locking with blue, then lashing up, in a repeating pattern that got closer and closer, until-

Maul and head were separated. Anakin collected the staff—a gruesome souvenir of sorts—and leapt up to see the Anzati had been felled.

However, there was carnage everywhere. Obi-Wan had been burned on the shoulder and stabbed in the leg. Qui-Gon was missing his right leg, Dooku both hands. And Nejaa and Siri were blocked on the wall by wreckage of something. It was only he and Tyranus.

Tyranus saluted, then raised his sword. Anakin ignited his and the duel was on. Blade met blade as Anakin shifted through techniques, trying to find evil Dooku's weak point. He tried Form III, though he hated it. He tried Form IV, though it involved wasting too much energy on flying around. Form VI was no fighting style at all, and Form VII was no good against Tyranus's cold Form II. Even mirroring his technique, Anakin could not get past him.

Then, a thought. _Maul and me_. He swung the blades, then locked them into one hand. Then he ignited Maul's staff in his other hand. The result was four blades spinning about against Tyranus's one. The odds swung in Anakin's favor.

Then, after his wild technique drove Tyranus back, he unleashed Force Lightning on Anakin. Anakin closed down both sabers and caught the lightning. Then he went after Dark Dooku with his own Lightning.

Tyranus was not expecting this, to say the least. He was thrown into a tube of some sort that shattered marvelously. He stood and brushed himself off. "I didn't think most Jedi were willing to resort to such a power."

"You may have noticed that I am _not_ most Jedi." Anakin managed to fight with two staffs in each hand and still blast Lightning at Tyranus. Tyranus was good, but not good enough to beat four blades _and_ Force Lightning. Finally, Skywalker's blue blade beat in and stabbed Tyranus in the chest.

When he fell, Anakin noticed-the others were still pinned against the wall. Then there was a sick sound of applause and cackling.

"Good." A shadow stepped forward. "I see you are the one."

"Who are you?" Anakin leveled his blue blade at the shadow.

The shadow waved his hand. "All in good time. But for now, you've passed the test-you've succeeded."

"Test?" Anakin looked around. These tubes-they were cloning tubes.

"Yes. I cloned all the best Sith Lords that were and were to be-your Master Dooku was meant to become Lord Tyranus. You remember Lord Maul. Nikkos Tyris was never truly Sith, but he had hate, and he hated Master Halcyon. And Lord Vader..." he paused, "was to be you."

"But it is _not_ me. This _test_, as you call it, was meant to drive one of us to the Dark Side. You failed."

"Ahh. But the death of your friends by _my_ hand may do the trick."

"_Who...are...you_?" Anakin snarled.

"As you wish." The shadow stepped forward. The Masters on the other side of the room gasped.

The shadow was Palpatine.

Or more correctly, another clone. But it still had all his knowledge and Dark-Side power. "You are destined to join the Dark Side, Anakin. It is written!"

Anakin only stared. "Nothing is written, Sidious. Nothing."

"But your wife...you have seen she will die, haven't you? I can save her. Just...join me." Palpatine raised his hand, and beckoned.

* * *

On the one side, Sidious, beckoning from the Dark, saying he'd save his wife's life. 

On the other, 5 friends that would give their lives for his, and almost had. 5 friends that had the power to save his wife, and would with no strings attached.

The problem with Sidious's plan is that this time around, he hasn't had the time to worm his way into Anakin's confidence and friendship-he's always been the example of how power corrupts.

This is no contest. Anakin makes his decision, and walks to the side of the room where he belongs. Where he has always belonged.

Anakin walks to the light.

* * *

Author's Note: Again, souderwan knows what I'm apologizing for. 

Author's Note 2: This wasn't my best piece of work, but hey, Episode 1 wasn't Lucas's finest, either.

Author's Note 3: And you gotta give me credit-I BARBECUED JAR-JAR BINKS! Yay me!


	3. Episode II: Misgivings

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Sadly, I cannot see a way to do an alternate universe here. This was a true example of the genius in Palpatine's manipulations. There certainly are ideas, but none that truly work.

For example...

* * *

If Padmé were to die in Zam Wessel's attack?

It might change things, certainly, but I refuse to explore it. Quite simply, I love her character too much to kill her. It broke my heart to see her die on Polis Massa. I could not repeat the experience.

* * *

If Anakin were to save his mother? 

What would _that_ accomplish? Obi-Wan would still be caught, Anakin and Padmé would still go to his rescue, and the Clone Wars would still begin.

* * *

If Mace Windu ignited his blade under Dooku's neck instead of Fett? 

I don't believe that Mace could kill his old friend. Plus, if the super battle droids didn't get him, Jango Fett would.

* * *

If the Jedi were not rescued in time? 

Palpatine would have a _real_ public outrage to work with.

* * *

If Anakin and Obi-Wan fought Tyranus together instead of separately? 

It wouldn't change things. Dooku was still the superior swordsman, and Anakin and Obi-Wan did not have the relationship there they did in "Revenge of the Sith".

* * *

If Padmé and Anakin did not marry? 

Still something I cannot bear to do. It is not my place to condemn a relationship that I hoped against hope would survive "Revenge of the Sith".

* * *

Ultimately, there is nothing that could be done. The Clone Wars would still go on, Jedi would die, and the Sith would still rise. 

Some things cannot be changed.


	4. Episode III: Misspeakings

Episode III: Misspeaking

Premise: What if Sidious were revealed on the _Invisible Hand_?

* * *

"The Chancellor is a civilian. You and General Kenobi, on the other hand, are legitimate military targets. It is up to you whether you will accompany me as captives—" A twitch of the Force brought his lightsaber to his hand with invisible speed, its brilliant scarlet blade angled downward at his side. "—or as _corpses_."

"Now, there's a coincidence," Kenobi replied dryly as he swung around Dooku to place the Count precisely between Skywalker and himself. "You face the identical choice."

Dooku regarded each of them in turn with impregnable calm. He lifted his blade in the Makashi salute and swept it again to a low guard. "Just because there are two of you, do not presume you have the advantage."

"Oh, we know," Skywalker said. "Because there are two of _you_."

Dooku barely managed to restrain a jolt of surprise.

* * *

Here the Force steps in. It stops Skywalker's planned words, and places different ones into his mouth. It also enters Dooku's brain, sparking what will be a colossal misstep. A small change, but as before, even the smallest change can have the most incredible consequences.

* * *

"But since you're right here and, more importantly, _armed_, we'll deal with _you_ first," Skywalker says. Then he thinks; _that isn't what I meant to say_.

"You should know that a Sith is never unarmed, even if he is trapped in a chair," Dooku says.

"Trapped in a chair? What...?" Skywalker then looks at Palpatine. He smiles, but it is not Palpatine's smile. He speaks, but it is not Palpatine's voice.

"That was a _mistake_, Lord Tyranus." Then Kenobi turns to him to look at Dooku.

* * *

This is the death of Count Dooku:

A starburst of clarity blossoms within Lord Tyranus's mind when he says to himself _Damn, that was _not_ smart_ and discovers the sudden feeling of fear in his heart coming from Sidious's glare.

It is that simple, and that complex.

And it is final.

Dooku is dead already. The rest is mere detail.

Dooku's decades of combat experience are irrelevant. His mastery of swordplay is useless. His vast wealth, his political influence, impeccable breeding, exquisite taste—all the pursuits and points of pride to which he has devoted so much of his time and attention over the long, long years of his life—are now chains hung upon his spirit, bending his neck before the ax.

Even his knowledge of the Force has become a joke.

He is powerless to stop the sudden tightening of his airways. He cannot stop Sidious from levitating him off the ground, choking him.

Then Sidious snarls the word _Traitor_, and he feels the exertion of Sidious's power on his neck.

Snap.

And all of him becomes nothing at all.

* * *

Obi-Wan watched Dooku fall to the floor, dead. Then he turned to Palpatine. Or, more appropriately, Darth Sidious. "Hmm. This is a conundrum." He calmly regarded Sidious. "We cannot arrest you; we were sent on a mission to rescue you. We cannot kill you; you are unarmed. So, what are we to do?" Then Obi-Wan looked at Anakin. What he saw rather alarmed him.

Anakin was igniting his blade. "_You_...you're the Sith Lord!" His blade was then at Palpatine's throat.

"I am also, your friend; your confidant. I'm sure you wouldn't want the Jedi to know about your marriage, would you?" He coldly regarded Anakin as Obi-Wan looked at him.

"Marriage?" Was all that he said.

"Can we get into that later, Master? Focus on the here and now, perhaps?" Anakin asked, as he moved his blade into a guard position. This man was a Sith Lord-not only a Sith Lord, he was _the_ Sith Lord-the one responsible for billions of lives, hundreds of destroyed worlds, and countless good Jedi. There was no question where Anakin's loyalties lay now.

"Well, what are you going to do, Jedi? Kill me? Arrest me?" Sidious was mocking in his tone.

Anakin spoke. "No, but we have another option; we can just leave you here. We simply could not make it through the Separatist barrage, and were unable to save you in time before the ship exploded. Master?" Anakin looked at Kenobi, as if wanting confirmation.

"I don't think we'll be able to beat these droids, Anakin," he said with a wan smile, "we may just have to leave the Chancellor."

Palpatine just looked at them. Then the binders on his wrist snapped open. Obi-Wan thought, _oh, this is _not_ good_, as a lightsaber appeared in Sidious's hand.

"It's treason, then." Then a blade the color of fresh blood came from his saber. He leapt from the chair, spinning in the air.

* * *

This is Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi:

They are closer than friends. Closer than brothers. Though Obi-Wan is sixteen standard years Anakin's elder, they have become men together. Neither can imagine life without the other. The war has forged their two lives into one.

The war that has done this is not the Clone Wars; Obi-Wan and Anakin's war began on Naboo, when Qui-Gon Jinn died at the hand of a Sith Lord. Master and Padawan and Jedi Knights together, they have fought this war for thirteen years. Their war is their life.

And their life is a weapon.

Say what you will about the wisdom of ancient Master Yoda, or the deadly skill of grim Mace Windu, the courage of Ki-Adi-Mundi, or the subtle wiles of Shaak Ti; the greatness of all these Jedi is unquestioned, but it pales next to the legend that has grown around Kenobi and Skywalker.

They stand alone.

Together, they are unstoppable. Unbeatable. They are the ultimate go-to guys of the Jedi Order. When the Good Guys absolutely, positively have to _win_, the call goes out.

Obi-Wan and Anakin always answer.

Whether Obi-Wan's legendary cleverness might beat Anakin's raw power, straight up, no rules, is the subject of schoolyard fistfights, crèche-pool wriggle-matches, and pod-chamber stinkwars across the Republic. These struggles always end, somehow, with the combatants on both sides admitting that it doesn't matter.

Anakin and Obi-Wan would never fight each other.

They couldn't.

They're a team. They're _the_ team.

And now, with Sidious pre-emptively revealed, it is clear that they always will be.

* * *

Sidious cut at Anakin's leg, but Anakin parried the blow, and tried an attack at Palpatine's head, but this move placed him in Obi-Wan's way. This amusing little farce continued on for some minutes, with each managing to get into the other's way. Then Obi-Wan thrust at the Shadow's gut, forcing a parry that brought them face to face. "Your moves are too slow, Kenobi," Sidious snarled. "You'll have to do better than that."

All Obi-Wan did was smile. "All right, then," and with that, he shot up into the air.

And where he'd been only seconds before, there was the bolt of blue lightning of Skywalker's blade going right at Sidious's chest. Only a desperate whirl saved his life, and doomed his Senatorial robes instead.

Then there was Kenobi, flashing through an incredible display of defense that Palpatine did not dare assault it. All he could do was feint at his throat, then leap backwards.

Where Anakin waited with a slash that nearly sliced the Shadow in half. Then he was facing Skywalker, who forced back with impossible power. Sidious was astounded at the power that he struck with. He slipped in a kick at Anakin's chin.

Only to almost lose the foot entirely to a move from _Kenobi_ who'd come out of _nowhere_ with an attack so bold that Sidious became worried. Then, in a moment of clarity, he realized:

He'd been suckered into forgetting he faced The Team.

* * *

This is The Team:

They are the perfect complement to one another.

Their blades shine brightly in the same shade of blue but their styles couldn't be more different. Anakin Skywalker is the whirlwind of power and skill. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the epitome of grace and efficiency. Together, though, they represent the most formidable fighting team the galaxy has ever known. Should their enemy attempt to strike one down, the other is there to draw his attention away, giving his partner the opportunity to recover. Every strike one of them delivers is nothing but a prelude to the slash being readied by the other. Every leap is perfectly coordinated.

In a battle of two master swordsmen against one, it is easy for masters of lesser caliber to get in each others' way. This is all but impossible for this pair. If one should get in the other's way, it is the opponent that should fear because this is but a dance to them. There are no accidents of placement; no mishaps of thoughtlessness; no confusion of intent. To fight together, for The Team, is to be performers in the greatest of ballets with the final act being the destruction of anything that would dare stand against them.

But their compatibility extends beyond their skills with the lightsaber. This could be imitated if one were to study them together long enough. This could be emulated by lesser beings under the right circumstances. What separates this pair above all others is their connection in the Force. When they stand together, the Force joins the two in a powerful coupling as real as the attachment between the arm and hand. Each man can feel the other. Each knows the other's thoughts before he thinks them. It is symbiosis brought to its highest ideal. Anakin's power dominates the connection, but Kenobi's control enables it to function.

Together they can feel the Dark Lord's attack before he even begins. Together two lightsabers flash in a flurry of blocks and parries that drive the Chancellor back. Before the foe can even begin to mount a response, the young attacks from on high in a dangerous arc of intensity while the older comes in from below with a graceful curve of killing power. It's impossible to parry them both given the synchrony of the assault.

The Shadow responds by leaping backwards, placing his feet firmly on the transparisteel wall and jumping over both their heads arcing behind them in a slashing attack meant to sever both their spines.

It is as effective as starting a fire in a thunderstorm.

Before the slash is even halfway to its target both Masters have turned and are ready. The Jedi with the scar along his eye knocks the Sith's blade away easily. Before the shadow's feet can touch the floor, the bearded Master's weapon is already in motion with a deadly slice at his now-exposed midriff. Only a desperate blast from the Force that drives the Jedi back from him slightly while he lands and leaps precariously backwards is able to save the Chancellor's life.

As the Two that are One in the Light stare intensely at the One in the Dark, it becomes clear that this contest will not be won easily. The Light Side of the Force burns brightly from them both in effervescent glory as it coalesces into one magnificent sphere of power. It is a power that cannot be matched.

It is a power that cannot be stopped.

Sidious stares at them intently in the Force and decides then that discretion is the better part of valor. He needs to destroy their advantage and the wide open space that is the observation tower will never afford him that opportunity.

Together they feel him turn towards the turbolifts. They see him break through its roof and climb into the turbolift shaft. Skywalker and Kenobi stare at each other in the Force and shrug. If the Dark Lord of the Sith wants to see how The Team performs in confined quarters, they are only too happy to oblige.

The Team is not a function of the environment. The Team does not care about its opponent. In the Light, The Team simply is relentless and unrivaled.

So The Team follows.

* * *

Sidious knows he is losing. The Jedi are beating him soundly. Even Skywalker, with his rage still burning hot inside him, acts as a complement to Kenobi, in the fact that Kenobi is a calm, cold duelist. He knows that even in this turbolift shaft, he still is in serious trouble.

Then the ship tilts and the gravity went berserk, dropping them all to the wall...floor now.

He parries madly against Skywalker's advance, then stabs. Skywalker leaps out of the way, allowing Kenobi to stab straight back at Palpatine. Only a leap saves the Sith's life. It is not long, though, before he has to dodge another attack from The Team. He is slowly driven back into the center of the room, where he is forced to draw on all the power he has to hold back their Star-Wars version of monkey-in-the-middle assault. Then he forces them both into the shaft walls. He smiles, victorious. He draws in all the power he can to unleash a Force Storm of lightning.

Such is his confidence and arrogance that he does not sense what The Team does.

* * *

"Fire the emergency booster engines!" General Grievous commanded the droids in the cockpit.

* * *

Then the _Invisible Hand _rights itself. Anakin and Obi-Wan brace themselves inside the walls. Sidious moves towards the other wall.

Anakin will not have this. He touches the Force and pulls Sidious into the center of the shaft.

And Palpatine falls.

* * *

"Artoo, activate the turbolift!" Anakin shouted into his comlink.

* * *

It is a long, long, long fall to the bottom of the turbolift shaft.

When he does reach it, there is an explosion of blue energy—the sheer power of the Dark-Side energies vent up into the air. The Team is saved only by the fact that the turbolift that dropped after Palpatine blocks most of the energy. Then it winds down, and there is nothing.

* * *

For the past several years, the Jedi were forced to open themselves more and more to the Force as it grew darker and darker. Anakin Skywalker was no exception. Now, with Sidious's influence removed, the Force flowed into him with such intensity that he became aware of not just the shaft, but the entire ship. Every life-form. Every droid.

Everything.

In particular, the instability of the gravity generators, and the critical engines those were on the verge of failure and explosion.

"Obi-Wan—we've got to get out of here!"

* * *

The Team barely manages to get to the escape pods with Artoo Detoo in time. Using the Force, Anakin presses the buttons that launch all pods—before anyone is in them. The _Invisible Hand_ begins to plummet into the Coruscanti atmosphere, disintegrating as it goes.

* * *

General Grievous escaped death once before, when the Separatists placed him in this droid shell.

The second time, he will not be so lucky.

* * *

The RSS _Integrity_, commanded by one Lieutenant Commander Lorth Needa, moves to pick up an escape pod from the _Invisible Hand_.

* * *

"Well, how do you propose we explain this to the Council?" Obi-Wan looked at Anakin.

"Forget the Council; how do we explain this to the Republic?" Anakin looked worried. "Yes, we destroyed the Sith, once and for all, but how can we avoid being destroyed from the fallout?"

Then Artoo tweetled. "What is it, Artoo?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He says that he's got a recording of what happened in the General's Quarters. But how does that..." Anakin trailed off as Artoo's projectors activated. They saw the General's Quarters on the _Invisible Hand_.

_(The following is a transcript of a recording presented first before Masters Kenobi and Skywalker, then the Jedi Council, and finally the Galactic Senate on the evening of the end of the Clone Wars; identities of all speakers verified and confirmed by voiceprint analysis as well as visual confirmation)_

COUNT DOOKU: "It will be an embarrassment to be captured by him."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "An embarrassment you can survive, Lord Tyranus. After all, he is the greatest Jedi alive, is he not? And have we not ensured that all the galaxy shares this opinion?"

COUNT DOOKU: "Quite so, my Master. Quite so. It is...fatiguing, to play the villain for so long, Master. I find myself looking forward to an honorable captivity. May I suggest, Master, that we give Kenobi one last chance? The support of a Jedi of his integrity would be invaluable in establishing the political legitimacy of our Empire."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Ah, yes, Kenobi. You have long been interested in Kenobi, haven't you?"

COUNT DOOKU: "Of course. His Master was my Padawan; in a sense, he's practically my grandson—"

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "He is too old. Too indoctrinated. Irretrievably poisoned by Jedi fables. We established that on Geonosis, did we not? In his mind, he serves the Force itself; reality is nothing in the face of such conviction."

COUNT DOOKU: "True enough, I suppose; how fortunate we are that I never labored under any such illusions."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Kenobi must die. Today. At your hand. His death may be the code key of the final lock that will seal Skywalker to us forever."

COUNT DOOKU: "But I must ask, my Master: is Skywalker truly the man we want?"

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "He is powerful. Potentially more powerful than even myself."

COUNT DOOKU: "Which is precisely why it might be best if I were to kill _him_, instead."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Are you so certain that you can?"

COUNT DOOKU: "Please. Of what use is power unstructured by discipline? The boy is as much danger to himself as he is to his enemies. And that mechanical arm—revolting."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Then perhaps you should have spared his real arm."

COUNT DOOKU: "Hmp. A gentleman would have learned to fight one-handed. He's no longer even entirely human. With Grievous, the use of these bio-droid devices is almost forgivable; he was such a disgusting creature already that his mechanical parts are clearly an improvement. But a blend of droid and _human_? Appalling. The depths of bad taste. How are we to justify associating with him?"

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "How fortunate I am to have an apprentice who feels it is appropriate to _lecture_ me."

COUNT DOOKU: "I have overstepped, my Master. I am only observing, not arguing. Not at all."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Skywalker's arm makes him, for our purposes, even better. It is the permanent symbol of the sacrifices he has made in the name of peace and justice. It is a badge of heroism that he must publicly wear for the rest of his life; no one can ever look at him and doubt his honor, his courage, his integrity. He is perfect, just as he is. _Perfect_. The only question that remains is whether he is capable of transcending the artificial limitations of his Jedi indoctrination. And that, my lord Count, is precisely what today's operation is designed to answer."

COUNT DOOKU: "But—forgive me, Master. But Kenobi having fallen to my blade, are you certain Skywalker will ever accept my orders? You must admit that his biography offers little confidence that he is capable of obedience at all."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Skywalker's power brings with it more than mere obedience. It brings creativity, and luck; we need never concern ourselves with the sort of instruction that Grievous, for example, requires. Even the blind fools on the Jedi Council see clearly enough to understand this; even they no longer try to tell him _how_, they merely tell him _what_. And he finds a way. He always has."

_there is a long pause_

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Tyranus? Are you well?"

COUNT DOOKU: "Am I...Yes, my Master. I am beyond well. Today, the climax—the grand finale—the culmination of all your decades of work...I find myself somewhat overcome."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Compose yourself, Tyranus. Kenobi and Skywalker are nearly at the door. Play your part, my apprentice, and the galaxy is ours."

_Dooku_ _looks at Chancellor for first time_

COUNT DOOKU: "Thank you, Chancellor."

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: "Withdraw. They are here."

_recording ends_

Obi-Wan regarded the floor where the hologram had been for quite some time. Then, "Well, that certainly clears up a few things."

Anakin was deep in thought. "They planned to turn me..." He saw into that possible future...there was incredible pain, and hatred. The Republic was destroyed—turned into Palpatine's Empire. He was the new Dark Lord of the Sith—in a nightmare suit of armor. And Padmé—his beautiful, sweet, wonderful Padmé— she was dead. _And how close I came_, Anakin thought, deeply disturbed.

"Well, Anakin," Obi-Wan turned to regard Anakin. "You did say 'later', and _now_ is _later_. So...this marriage," he said. "It's to Padmé, isn't it?"

"How did you..."

"Guess? Master Yoda and I had our suspicions." Obi-Wan continued, "We did not know you had married, but we were aware of how you loved each other."

"Then why..." Anakin found himself quite confused—a new and entirely unknown feeling for him.

"To gain Mastery of the Force, a Jedi must accept himself," Obi-Wan replied. "All you had to do was be ready to put your trust in us. Honestly, that is all that holds you back from Mastery and a position on the Council—your lack of trust."

"But I would be expelled from the Jedi Order!"

"You really believe that? Look at Master Ki-Adi-Mundi—he has two wives and a daughter, yet he was not thrown out of the Order." He stopped Anakin from speaking, adding, "Master Ranik Solusar is married, and has a son. He was not thrown out. You shouldn't expect less for yourself." Obi-Wan continued, "The Jedi Order isn't a prison, nor a police state, nor a dictatorship, as Palpatine would have things. Speaking of Palpatine, he is the one who placed these seeds of distrust in your mind, isn't he?"

"You're right." And for the first time in years, Anakin was honest in that assessment; Obi-Wan _was_ right.

"The Order is about dedication, compassion and honesty. You have got to learn this lesson, Anakin—it is not one that _I_ can teach you. Only you yourself can learn it."

* * *

This is how it is feels to be Anakin Skywalker, right now:

You have just realized that all your life you've been wrong about the Jedi. Everything you thought you knew was a distorted vision brought about by the warped lens you were given to view the world.

You realize that you never counted on Jedi compassion.

You had never trusted them. You chose to mistrust them because Palpatine had you believe they mistrusted you.

Now, you sit with your oldest friend, and your respect for he and the other Jedi grows beyond anything you had felt before. You see them, for the first time, as the entity that he and Padmé kept insisting that they were—your family.

You look at him with your own eyes for the first time. You see his inner beauty. You see his undying compassion. You see his forgiveness.

But most importantly, you see the thing that you had believed only Darth Sidious was prepared to give you.

Acceptance.

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker, for now.

* * *

The RSS _Integrity_ came under heavy fire. Needa's sadistic offer of surrender was not appreciated by General Grievous, who was having extraordinary difficulty finding the Chancellor or the Jedi infiltrators. As the _Invisible Hand_ plunged into the Coruscanti atmosphere, Grievous gave his last orders. "Fire the engines. Send us straight into that ship. I want that destroyed!"

"But General, we have no escape pods..."

"Then we'll die!" Grievous snarled at the quivering Neimoidian. _Disgusting creatures_. "All guns firs at full power on that ship! Full speed—ram it!"

"Sir, the guns will go supercritical in less than a minute..."

"Burn them out."

"The engines already are supercritical..."

"Make sure they last long enough for us to ram the _Integrity_."

General Grievous was _not_ a very good sport at losing.

* * *

On the bridge of the _Integrity_, Commander Needa looked at the Jedi. "General Kenobi. Commander Skywalker. Welcome aboard." He looked at them. "Where's the Chancellor?"

The Jedi exchanged a look. "He didn't make it," Obi-Wan said.

"He fell down the turbolift shaft before he could get a grip on anything," Anakin added. It _was_ the truth...from a certain point of view.

Needa looked dismayed. "Then we have failed."

"The Republic is greater than any one man, Commander. We've survived the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Civil War with Revan, the Sith Wars, the Stark Hyperspace Conflict, and we will survive this," Obi-Wan consoled.

"You're right, Master Jedi." Needa began to speak, but suddenly a chorus of alarms drowned him out.

"Sir! The _Invisible Hand_ is going to ram us!" A deck officer shrieked, panicked beyond consolation.

Anakin frowned. "Sore loser."

"Have you ever known Grievous to play by the rules?" Obi-Wan asked, wanly smiling.

"All's fair in love and war," Needa quoted the age-old wisdom. "But this is low, even for him. Can we stop him? Get out of his way?" He looked worried. "Can we survive impact?"

"We can't stop the _Invisible_ _Hand_—it's coming at us full speed, so we can't move in time, either." The deck officer looked pained. "It's possible we can survive collision, but..."

"Send out the order to abandon ship." Needa wore a look on his face that Anakin knew. He'd seen it on far too many faces on far too many battlefields—hopeless defeat.

And on every one, he'd proven them wrong. He'd do it again.

It would just take a little more than fancy swordplay and dazzling piloting skills.

"Obi-Wan...?" He looked to his former Master for confirmation.

"It's insane. It's impossible." Obi-Wan smiled. "But doable. The only limits on the Force are..."

"What we place on it," Anakin finished. _This ought to be interesting.

* * *

_

In the Jedi Temple Situation Room, Yoda saddened as he saw, in the holographic display, the _Invisible Hand_ move to ram the _Integrity_. He'd lose both Obi-Wan—a dear friend—and Skywalker—the Chosen One. But with the cloud of the Dark Side lifted, perhaps...

He looked again, and watched as the _Invisible Hand_ slowed dramatically.

* * *

"Why are we slowing down!" Grievous yelled.

"We don't know, sir; engines are at full already. It must be..."

"Stinking _Jedi_," Grievous spat.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

When objects of extreme size collide—for example, ships—they cause extreme damage to each other. The higher the speed at which they hit, the more damage is caused. This is Grievous's plan.

But if a ship is slowed enough, the damage can be minimized, or even avoided. This is Kenobi and Skywalker's plan.

However, this is not taking into account damage already done to either ship.

That is not in anybody's plan.

But it occurs anyway.

* * *

The _Invisible_ _Hand_ slowed to a stop several klicks away from the _Integrity_. Then it began to move backwards. Anakin looked at Obi-Wan, victorious.

Then it exploded.

The shock wave pounded the ship terribly. The left side of the ship caved in from the immense pressure. Lights blacked out and gravity shut down as the ship's internal systems tried to compensate.

Then the debris came. It hailed into the _Integrity_, shredding it's entire lower portion, and shearing off most of the protruding structures on the top.

One portion of debris hit the _Integrity_'s command deck viewport. It had four appendages, all appearing to be metallic. It wore a cape, for some reason, and it's face was that of a child's nightmares.

General Grievous was so much bug splatter on the _Integrity_'s windshield.

Anakin looked around, seeing with the red emergency lights that activated. It was not the most comforting visage. The ship was falling.

Into the atmosphere.

He looked at Obi-Wan. "Well, that didn't go as planned." Most of the bridge crew was dead, Needa included; the consoles had either exploded in their faces, or they'd been thrown into the walls at breakneck speeds by the gravity shears.

"Can you fly this thing?" Obi-Wan asked.

"You mean, 'can I land what's left of this thing'."

"Well?"

"Well, I'd say that the ability to pilot this is probably irrelevant. Strap in somewhere." Obi-Wan leapt into the crew pit, and strapped himself into the weapons console. Artoo floated down and wedged himself in the corner.

Anakin walked to the center of the command walkway, and sat down. His position was that of meditation.

He reached into the Force, and decided to do what he must.

* * *

This is Anakin Skywalker's masterpiece:

Many people say he is the best star pilot in the galaxy, but that's merely talk, born of the constant HoloNet references to his unmatched string of kills in starfighter combat. Blowing up vulture droids and tri-fighters is simply a matter of superior reflexes and trust in the Force; he has spent so many hours in the cockpit that he wears a Jedi starfighter like clothes. It's his own body, with thrusters for legs and cannons for fists.

What he is doing right now transcends mere flying the way Jedi combat transcends a schoolyard scuffle.

He sits in meditation on the deck of a ship he's never been in before. He is surrounded by bodies, blood, metal from all over, and sparks from fried systems. The ship he's in is not only bucking like a maddened dewback through brutal coils of clear-air turbulence, it's on fire, crushed like it was sent through a garbage compactor, shredded to hell, and breaking up like a comet ripping apart as it crashes into a gas giant. He is trying to control a ship that not only has no belly repulsorlift controls, but has no _belly_ at all.

This is, put simply, impossible. It can't be done.

He's going to do it anyway.

Because he's Anakin Skywalker, and he doesn't believe in _impossible_.

He extends his awareness and for one long, long moment he merely listens to the shivers his influence brings to each remaining control surface of the disintegrating ship, allowing their resonances to join inside his head until they resolve into harmony like a Ferroan joy-harp virtuoso checking the tuning of his instrument.

And at the same time, draws power from the Force. He gathers perception, and luck, and sucks into himself the instinctive, preconscious _what-will-happen-in-the-next-ten-seconds_ intuition that has always been the core of his talent.

And then he begins.

On the downbeat, atmospheric drag fins deploy; as he tweaks their angles and cycles them in and out to slow the ship's descent without burning them off altogether, their contrabass roar takes on a punctuated rhythm like a heart that skips an occasional beat. The forward attitude thrusters, damaged first in the ship to ship battle and then the explosion, now fire in random directions, but he can feel where they're taking him and he strokes them in sequence, making them the theme of his impromptu concerto.

And the true inspiration, the sparkling grace note of genius that brings his masterpiece to life, is the soprano counterpoint: a syncopated sequence of exterior hatches in the hull—what's left of it—sliding open and closed and open again, subtly altering the aerodynamics of the ship to give it just exactly the amount of sideslip or lift or yaw to bring the shattered ship into the approach cone of a pinpoint target an eighth of the planet away.

It is the Force that enables his power, makes this possible, and more than the Force. Anakin has no interest in failure. He opens himself to the light side of the Force, not just allowing it to flow in—he pulls it into himself.

He touches the planetary shields, a deep bass drum note as his power pings against it, then opens a ship-sized hole in it perfectly contouring to the shape of the wreck he brings in. He actually reaches out, and pushes against the nose of the ship, slowing it's descent further. He twists and pulls, wrenching the hollow corpse of a ship towards the landing strip that is too narrow, too short. With a ship that is still too fast, and too hot.

So he gives in completely to the Force. A deluge of energy sweeps across him, and not just the ship, not just the shield of the planet, not just the _planet_, but the entire _galaxy_ is in his influence. He smiles as he realizes this.

He can quite literally do _anything_. So he fires all of the ship's thrusters, all the doors, everything, forming a grand, uplifting note. Then, he stops the ship. Not slow it; stop it dead in the air. And it does. He cuts off the fires within it. Then there is only a soft alto voice from the wind as it softly sings between the extended drag fins and open doors. And he gently sets the ship down on the landing strip.

For the final note, he says to Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Another happy landing."

This is Anakin Skywalker's masterpiece.

* * *

The recording vanished. The members of the Jedi Council, Obi-Wan and Anakin observed, all wore different expressions.

Shaak Ti's eyes had widened to resemble the meal plates down in the mess hall early in the conversation and they widened even more as the recording continued. Her mouth had taken on a similar shape by the time it was finished.

Plo Koon, present in holographic form, sat impassively, watching with piercing and dissecting eyes throughout the recording but said nothing.

Saesee Tiin was watching impassively, though the Force revealed inner turmoil.

Ki-Adi-Mundi, present in hologram form as well, was wearing a look of surprise, which was rather bizarre on his Cerean face.

Kit Fisto's typical smile had vanished, and his glossy black eyes seemed to radiate the heat coming from within.

Eeth Koth's Zabrak features were revealing his growing astonishment.

Mace Windu was holding his calm face, but he was struggling with it—beneath his poised appearance was a storm of turmoil and outrage.

Yoda was an impenetrable mask of tranquility, even through the Force.

Finally, Yoda spoke. "Explain much, this does. Present this to the Senate, we should."

"Before we do, Master," Anakin said. "There is something I must say." He breathed in, and said the six words that he no longer feared, with Obi-Wan's help. In fact, thanks to Obi-Wan, he now felt no fear at all.

"Padmé Amidala and I are married."

* * *

After he finished, Anakin had told them of his relationship with Padmé. He had detailed his massacre of the Tusken Raiders following the death of his mother. He informed them how close he had come to being seduced by Palpatine. He mentioned the dragon that had raged within him, now dead by his and Obi-Wan's efforts.

"Good, this is," Yoda said. "Trust us, you do?"

Anakin nodded immediately; no hesitation. "Yes."

"Good. Yoda said, "A matter long overdue, resolved must be." He turned to Anakin Skywalker with serious eyes. "Join us on the Jedi Council, Master Skywalker shall."

And with those simple words, Anakin Skywalker was declared a Jedi Master. The entire Council nodded assent to the decision. Anakin sat wide-eyed in shock at the words.

"Thank you, Master Yoda," Anakin replied finally after composing himself. He looked over at the now-vacant location where the _Integrity_ had landed. He recalled the clones removing Commander Needa's crushed form from the bridge. He decided at that moment that he would find a way to honor that man's death, and all the others of this misbegotten war, with the rest of his life.

* * *

"Order! Order!" Mas Amedda called in the Senate Hall. None came. There was outrage, shock, and sadness at seeing their friends, their mentor, their Chancellor, in cahoots with the leader of the Separatist movement—both of them Dark Lords of the Sith.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please!" A voice silenced the cries. All turned to look at the pod now floating towards the empty Chancellor's pod. It was the pod from Naboo—Senator Padmé Amidala.

"Senators," Padmé announced in a voice clearer and stronger than any of those gathered had ever heard from her. "For thirteen years, we have played into his hand. We allowed him to stay past his term. We allowed emergency powers to him. And look what it has brought us! We all just stood by and watched as he became a dictator over the Republic. But only watch, I will do no longer!" Her voice was filled with vigor. "No longer will I sit idly by and allow the power of the people to be placed in the hands of a single man. No longer will I watch from the stands as we demolish our freedom in the vain hope of security! I will not give up! I will not go quietly into the night! I will not let this Republic die without a fight! I will not let our fates be decided by one man! Never again!"

The Senate abruptly broke into a thunderous applause. "This Republic is bigger than all of us. The citizens of the Republic placed their faith in us, and we let them down. Never again!"

The Senate cheered loud enough to shake the foundations of the building. Th chair from Alderaan joined Naboo's as Senator Bail Organa spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, I nominate Senator Padmé Amidala as the next Supreme Chancellor of the Republic!"

"I second the nomination!" came the melodic voice of Mon Mothma as she stood tall and the pod of Chandrila joined them.

Padmé watched awestruck, as one by one, each Senator in the room stood tall and floated down to join them.

A chant rose among them: "Vote now! _Vote now!_ VOTE NOW!"

"Senators!" Bail Organa called. "All in favor signify by saying yea!"

The response was in a single yet numerous voice saying "YEA!"

"By unanimous vote, the motion is passed!" Bail cheered, as the Senate joined him. He leapt from his pod into Naboo's, and steered it to the Chancellor's pod—Padmé's pod. "Congratulations, m'lady!" He embraced Amidala warmly as she stood in mild shock.

She was now the leader of the Republic.

* * *

It was settled. The Senate allowed the Separatist worlds to return, and put forward ideas for reform. Supreme Chancellor Amidala set up hearings that would once and for all lock away the leaders of the Trade Federation, Techno Union, InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Corporate Alliance.

The Jedi Order had its Code re-written to allow several new things—for instance, men and women of any age were accepted to the Order now. Training as pilots became an option, and a very popular one. Connection to the outside galaxy was allowed—the way things were, it was believed the Jedi were too aloof from society. Families were allowed to see their children for the first time in years. Jedi declared love and married.

The Grand Army of the Republic was evenly divided among worlds to act as the elite security/police force. Commander Cody, a distinguished clone from campaigns with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker rose to General, and was placed on the newly formed Joint Chiefs of Staff as advisors to the Chancellor.

Master Yoda remained on the Council as its leader for the next 25 years. Finally, at the age of 902, he passed into the Force, having trained countless Jedi and befriended many more. A statue of him was erected in the Room of a Thousand Fountains—life-sized, as he would have wished. He was the shining example of 'size matters not' for centuries to come.

Obi-Wan Kenobi remained on the Jedi Council for the rest of his long life. With the reformation of the Jedi Code, he and Jedi Knight Siri Tachi married. They had 2 boys, named Anakin and Ben.

Anakin Skywalker also remained on the Council all his life. When Yoda died, he was given the unofficial rank of Jedi Grand Master. He and his beloved Padmé had three children; twins Luke and Leia, and then a year later, their daughter Shira was born. He decided that Coruscant was far too much of a retched city-planet, and he moved the Order to Yavin IV, a jungle moon with a minor attachment to the Dark Side—not enough to overpower, but enough to teach the dangers of. Always the fighter jock, he had a complement of starfighters in the hangar he created on Yavin. He collected many, but his truest love, ranking lower only to his wife and children, was his Jedi Interceptor from the Clone Wars.

Padmé Amidala disclosed her marriage to Anakin with the birth of Luke and Leia. She remained as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic for ten years. When the Senate attempted to re-write the Constitution to allow her to remain for life, Chancellor Skywalker retired, against the wishes of the galaxy. Chancellor Organa, however, appointed her Special Counsel to the Chancellor, assuring that she'd have a hand in the Republic's policies for the rest of her life.

Luke Skywalker was apprenticed to Obi-Wan Kenobi, who took great care in his training. He grew into a Jedi as powerful as Anakin himself, and as great a star pilot. Because of the opened Jedi rules, he met, fell for, and married Mara Jade—a Jedi Warrior.

Leia Skywalker was apprenticed to Master Siri Tachi, but after completing her Padawan Trials and attaining rank of Jedi Knight, she left the Order to enter politics, following her mother. When Chancellor Mothma ended her term, Senator Skywalker of Yavin IV was elected to be Supreme Chancellor. After retirement, she returned to the Order, meeting a smuggler known as Han Solo, and his Wookiee partner Chewbacca. Despite a tempestuous relationship, they married a few years later. Twins Jacen and Jaina, and young Anakin Solo came of the marriage.

Ben Kenobi had been apprenticed to Yoda—his final Padawan—and became a Jedi Warrior—training in the ways of war, should the need ever arise. He met Shira Skywalker at a dinner of the Skywalkers and Kenobis. They fell for each other instantaneously. They married as soon as they both became Jedi Knights.

Kyp Durron was found by the Jedi, and placed under Luke Skywalker's apprenticeship. The boy was stunningly powerful, and served with distinction as a Jedi Warrior in the Ssi-Ruuvi Conflicts. He then became the Jedi Order's liaison to the Republic Academy.

Jaina Solo became the star pilot of the family, replacing Luke Skywalker. She trained as a Jedi Warrior under her aunt, Mara Jade Skywalker, and attended the Republic Academy, founded by General Cody and Admiral Thrawn. She and Kyp Durron met there, and found similar chemistry to her parents'. Similar results came, as well.

Jacen Solo trained with Anakin Skywalker, but after attaining rank of Jedi Knight, was given a long-term assignment to scope out the other Force-using tribes in the galaxy. He wandered the Galaxy for a long time, learning with all the Force-users there were. He and Tenel Ka, a girl from Hapes, met when he trained with the Witches of Dathomir with her, and they found odd attraction to each other. Their daughter, Padmé, found her way to the Hapan throne, reforming much of their old ways, staying true to her namesake.

See-Threepio served the Kenobi/Skywalker descendants for all his days. He went down the line of descendants for centuries, always serving primarily the politician in the family, but still loved by all. However, the poor droid was given the nickname "Goldenrod" from Han Solo, and it stuck. "Goldenrod" was respected as another sentient being with the family, Senate, and Jedi Order.

Artoo-Detoo also served the immense clan, always going to the star pilot. He was kept at full functionality, insisting that he be allowed to retain his gadgets from the Clone Wars. He and Threepio were expressly forbidden from receiving mind-wipes. For the next several centuries, they bickered and bantered as an old married couple might.

* * *

Dawn had arisen on the Republic. 


	5. Episode IV: Misconceptions

Episode IV: Missteps

Premise: Obi-Wan is able to evade Vader and escape

* * *

"I don't think you boys can help; I must go alone." Ben Kenobi walks past Han Solo. 

"Whatever you say; I've done more than I've bargained for on this trip already," Han gripes.

"I want to go with you," Luke says as he stops Ben.

"Be patient, Luke," Ben says. "Stay here and watch over the droids."

"But he can—"

"They must be delivered safely, or other star systems will suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Your destiny lies upon a different path from mine." He opens the door. "The Force will be with you. Always." Then he leaves the boys to continue down their preordained path.

* * *

Ben watched the stormtroopers march past, then ducked behind an alcove. When they were gone, he continued on to his destination.

* * *

"Uhh..." Han grabbed his gun and blasted the console, silencing the comm. "Boring conversation, anyway."

* * *

Ben crept through the halls and came to the tractor beam control center. He crept around the catwalk, not unmindful of the long fall below him. He began to shut down every control.

* * *

"If we can just avoid any more female advice, we might be able to get out of here," Han said snidely, looking at Leia.

* * *

Then, troopers approached. He heard, "Give me regular reports, please." 

As he moved, he heard, "You know what's going on?"

"Maybe it's just a drill."

Ben crept along the edge, hoping to avoid them.

"Have you seen the new P2-16?"

"Yeah, some of the other guys were telling me about it." Ben then distracted them, using the Force to make a sound in the opposite direction. "What was that?"

"Ah, it's nothing." Smiling, Ben walked on.

* * *

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, fallen Jedi, and mass murderer, stalked the halls of the Death Star. He sensed Ben Kenobi, and slowly made his way to intersect his path.

* * *

Then the Force intervenes. It confuses Vader's sense of Kenobi, masking it. It changes Kenobi's own connection to the Force, directing him to change his current path. And the future is changed irrevocably.

* * *

Vader pauses. He senses Kenobi. 

Several floors above him. _Interesting. Perhaps he intends to rescue the Princess._ He moves to the detention block.

* * *

Kenobi sees the new path the Force has chosen for him. _The will of the Force_, he thinks, and moves towards the docking bay.

* * *

"Didn't we just leave this party?" Han solo said sarcastically. 

"It would appear not," Ben said as he walked to him and Chewbacca. "What's your plan?"

"Wait for..." He didn't finish, because the ones they waited for appeared. "What kept you?" he said to Luke and Leia.

"Looks like you've got some of our friends," Leia said slightly sarcastically.

"Can we get around them?" Luke asked.

"Not without some kind of distraction," Han said.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Ben said sagely. He closed his eyes, then raised his hand, and gestured at the door at the far end of the room.

Nonplussed, the four watched as Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader appeared at the door, engaged in a fierce lightsaber duel. One of the stormtroopers gestured, and the others followed him. Seeing their opportunity, they dashed over into the _Millennium Falcon_, with Ben and the droids following.

* * *

Vader opened the turbolift door. What confronted him was not what he wanted. 

There were bodies of stormtroopers and officers littering the floor—killed not by lightsabers or the Force, but by blaster shot. _Hmm._ While he was not above using them, Obi-Wan always considered blasters to be crude, uncivilized weaponry.

He proceeded down the cell bay, noting the blaster burns in the walls. Then he came to the Princess's cell. It was empty. Angered, he stormed down the hall, then paused when he noticed something.

A garbage chute blasted open. _Perhaps their escape route?_ Groaning in disgust, he dropped down the shaft.

He landed on the muck, and looked ahead. The door was open, and there were two suits of stormtrooper armor outside.

Then, as he stepped outside, he felt someone influencing the Force. _Kenobi...

* * *

_

This is what it is to be Darth Vader right now:

You stink. Even through a helmet and destroyed nose, you can still smell the gross odor emitted from the garbage. What an incredible smell you've discovered.

You also see the suits are soaked in the water from the garbage masher. So there was at least three—Kenobi, presuming he'd put on what he'd no doubt find detestable armor, the Princess, who would never put such armor on; and a third accomplice, perhaps the pilot of that ship.

Then there is the touch of the Force. It is coming from Hangar Bay 527.

You realize that you have been suckered.

This is what it is to be Darth Vader, right now.

* * *

"Hope you got the right tractor beams, old man, or this is gonna be a real short trip. Punch it, Chewie!" Han called to his copilot as he ran to the cockpit. The _Millennium Falcon_ rose into the air, as the stormtroopers wheeled around and opened fire. The Falcon retreated, shot out the mag-con field, and away into space.

* * *

Luke sat at the table, quiet. He seemed tired, almost. Ben and Leia walked in and sat next to him. "What's wrong, Luke?" 

"I don't know. Something seems wrong, but..." He trailed off as Han charged in.

"Come on, buddy, we'renot out of this yet." Luke got up to follow Han as he climbed up and Luke descended to a turret.

Luke put on a headset, and immediately heard, "In, Kid?" At his affirmative, "Okay, stay sharp." He powered up the turret and scanned his horizon as he heard over the comm "_Here they come_."

* * *

Four TIE fighters swooped in on the _Falcon_ as, in the cockpit, Ben Kenobi slid into the pilot's chair and said over the comm, "Strap in, boys. This ought to be fun." With that, he quickly familiarized himself with Corellian controls, and smiled. _Time to show how much Anakin taught me_.

* * *

"Chewie, the old man is flying? How did...oh, this is gonna be _great_!" Han snarled into the comm. Then, he heard, "_Here we go_." Then the _Falcon_ jerked downward, and began spinning as Kenobi flew it through the wildest evasion pattern Han had ever seen. "Maybe he isn't so bad after all," he amended. 

"_Well, are you going to just admire my flying or shoot?_" Came a snide remark over the comm. Han and Luke snapped to and began blasting at fighters as the _Falcon_ spun and juked harder than Han ever dared to.

Then Han smiled briefly as a TIE came into his sights, and he fired. The fighter shredded under the quad guns' power. "Ha-ha!"

Then he heard below/behind him, "Got him! I got him!" as another disappeared off the screen.

Han turned and smiled. "Great, Kid!" He added as an afterthought, "Don't get cocky!"

"_There's still two more of them out there_," Leia said over the comm.

Then the _Falcon_ dodged wildly as the TIEs scored hits. "_We've lost lateral controls_," Leia said, worried.

"Don't worry; she'll hold together," Han said. Then, as he heard something catch fire below, he whispered, "Hear me, baby? Hold together."

* * *

Kenobi muttered, "Flying is for droids." Then, he said over the comm, "Hang on tight; time to show them who the _real_ pilot is here." Then the _Falcon_ shot forward at full throttle and left the TIEs in the dust. Then he wrenched the controls and spun it around. Not waiting for a lock, he fired off two Araknyd missiles. They streaked out as the TIEs dodged neatly. Then, influenced by Kenobi, they shot back at them, zooming in, until—

Both ships exploded in a rush of fire. Then, just as fast, they went out. Kenobi slumped in is seat. "Well, that was fun." Turning to Leia, he asked, "What course to your Rebel base?"

* * *

"Help! I think I'm melting!" Threepio cried. Glaring at Artoo, he said, "This is all your fault." Artoo only snickered.

* * *

As the _Falcon_ jumped to hyperspace, two men stood in the Control Center of the Death Star. "Are they away?"

"They have just made the jump into hyperspace."

"You're sure the homing beacon is secure aboard their ship? I'm taking an awful risk, Vader. This had better work."

* * *

Stars streaked before the _Falcon_ as she entered hyperspace. Ben reclined in the pilot's chair as Han entered. "Where'd you learn to fly like that, old man?" He asked, bewildered.

"The Clone Wars; a long time ago," Kenobi responded.

"Well, you're welcome aboard anytime you want. Could definitely use you in a fight," Han said reverently. He'd never seen such a stellar pilot.

"I shall keep that in mind," Ben spoke as he left the cockpit. Then the Force gave him a premonition to stay and hear the interactions between the Princess and Solo.

He watched Luke enter the cockpit as he heard, "Your friend is quite a mercenary. Wonder if he really cares about anything...or anybody."

"I care." Then he watched the Princess storm past. As he began to move away, he heard, "So, what do you think of her, Han?"

"I'm tryin' not to, Kid," Solo muttered.

"Good." There was a long silence.

Then, "Still...she's got a lot of spirit." Another brief pause and then, "I don't know, what do you think? You think a Princess and a guy like me—"

"No," Luke said, interrupting. Ben smirked. He heard Anakin in his head, saying _I-know-something-that-you-don't_ in a sing-song voice that had always annoyed Obi-Wan. So he had made very sure to use it whenever he could. Interested, though, he looked into the future, and saw..._ho, ho; what is_ this_? Hmm; a Princess and a guy like him, indeed_.

* * *

_Yavin IV is a pinnacle of the Force_, Ben thought. And it was; the place was brimming with the Force. There was a slight touch of the Dark Side here, but it was old, and not likely to be anything other than a _slight_ threat. _Hmm_. As he thought on this, Luke and Han went to the briefing with the other Rebel pilots. Then, Ben smiled, and followed.

* * *

LATER...

* * *

"Luke." Skywalker turned to see Han Solo and Ben Kenobi coming towards him.

"What's going on?" He noted the flight suit and helmet in Ben's hands and the stance Han held, including the captain's insignia on his breast.

"You think we're gonna let you go into this alone? We're coming along," Han smiled.

* * *

"All wings report in."

"Red 10 standing by."

"Red 7 standing by."

"Red 3 standing by," Biggs called in.

"Red 6 standing by."

"Red 9 standing by."

"Red 2 standing by," Wedge said.

"Red 11 standing by."

"Red 5 standing by," Luke said.

"General Kenobi standing by," Ben reported.

"_Millennium Falcon_ standing by," Han reported.

"Lock S-Foils in attack position." The X-Wings all locked into their x-position as the Y-Wings and _Falcon_ came into position.

"We're passing through the magnetic field; hold tight," Red Leader called over the comm. "Switch your deflectors on to double-front."

"Look at the size of that thing," Wedge stared.

"Cut the chatter, Red 2. Accelerate to attack-speed." He swung in. "This is it, boys."

"Red Leader, this is Gold Leader."

"I copy, Gold Leader."

"We're starting for the target shaft now."

"We're in position. I'm going to cut across the axis and draw their fire." The X-Wings swooped in and opened fire on the turbolasers.

* * *

"Red Leader, this is Captain Solo."

"_Solo, this is Lead, go ahead_."

"Leader, I have a shot at the chasm here on the far side. Shall I take the shot?"

"_Affirmative, Solo. We'll send Gold Leader in the other side. Good luck_."

"Roger that. Solo out." He turned to his co-pilot. "Okay, Chewie; take us in. And aim carefully. If we miss, those Y-Wings are gonna get _real_ toasty."

* * *

"Red Leader, this is Kenobi."

"_Go ahead, sir_."

"Leader, Red 5 and I will escort Captain Solo on his trench run," Kenobi said.

"_Affirmative, General. Good luck_."

"Red 5, Kenobi. Follow me."

"_Copy that, Ben_," Luke said as he went to Ben's wing.

* * *

"Millennium Falcon, _this is General Kenobi_."

"Go ahead, old man."

"_We'll follow you in; give you covering fire if the turrets catch on to us_," Kenobi said.

"Roger that, Ben—glad to have ya," Han said. "Chewie, get in the topside gun," he ordered, jerking his thumb. "I got a bad feeling about this trench."

* * *

The two X-Wings formed up on the YT-1300, and the three of them entered the trench. For the moment, there was no turret fire at them; it was all directed at the incoming Y-Wings. "We can't have that; Chewie, fire on the turrets. I'll send up the trajectory."

The situation quickly changed.

* * *

"We count thirty-one Rebel ships, Lord Vader. But their fighters are so small they're evading our turbolasers," the officer told him.

"We'll have to destroy them ship-to-ship," Darth Vader said. "Get the crews to their fighters."

* * *

Red Six, Jek Porkins crashed into the Death Star surface.

* * *

"_Squadron leaders, we've picked up a new group of signals; enemy fighters headed your way_."

"_Uh, my scopes are negative; I'm reading nothing_," Luke said.

"_They're using jamming signals, Red 5. Here they come_," said Red Leader.

"Okay, Chewie, stay sharp," Han said over the intercom as he grabbed the stick and set the controls to account for Chewie's presence.

* * *

The _Falcon_ spat red fire from both turrets; the top aimed at the fighters, and the bottom fired ahead, towards the turrets.

"_Alright, here we go_," Ben said. Luke sat in his cockpit, anxious as he juked and dodged incoming turret fire.

"_This is the_ Millennium Falcon_; I'm on final approach. Get ready_."

"_Copy that_, Falcon," came Red Leader.

Luke watched as two torpedoes shot from the Falcon's tubes. "_Here we go_," Han said over the comm.

* * *

Vader stalked towards the bay to his TIE Advanced fighter.

Then there was an explosion, and the station shook so badly he was knocked to the floor.

* * *

"_Did we get a hit?_"

"_Negative; it didn't go in_." The defeat was obvious in Han's voice. "_Just impacted on the surface._"

"_Captain Solo, this is Gold Leader. We're starting our approach now, we'll make the shot_."

"_Negative on that_," came Ben's voice. "_My torpedoes are spent, but Red 5 still has two. Luke, loop around and come back_."

"Copy that." Luke pulled the fighter straight up and into a loop that brought him back 33000 meters from it. He set the targeting computer, and got ready. Then he heard Ben's voice. _Use the Force, Luke_. It was not over the comm. _Let go, Luke_. He hesitated. _Luke, trust me_.

He did. He pressed the button deactivating his computer. "_His computer's off. Luke, you've switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?_"

He smiled. "Nothing. I'm alright." He neared the target as the turrets ceased fire. He didn't note the TIEs coming in, or the odd shape of the center one in the formation.

As he approached, he finally noticed them. "Group, I've got incoming TIEs. I could use some help!"

"_Roger that, Red 5_," Wedge Antilles said. "_I'm coming in on your tail now_."

"_I'm with him_," Biggs Darklighter added.

Then green fire shot around him. Artoo squealed behind him. "I've lost Artoo!"

* * *

"The Death Star has cleared the planet." In the Yavin control room, as alarms sounded, Leia felt the clutches of despair and defeat begin to grasp her. _But Luke still has a chance...

* * *

"You may fire when ready," Wilhuff Tarkin, Grand Moff of the Galactic Empire ordered._

* * *

"Commence primary ignition." The Death Star operator began to flick the switches.

* * *

The four ships covering Luke—Reds 2 & 3, the _Falcon_, and Ben, opened fire on the approaching TIEs. The Reds hit the portside TIE, the _Falcon_ the right, and the center—Vader—was left for Ben. He thought, _I'm sorry, Luke. Goodbye, Anakin. Time to finish the job I started 20 years ago_.

With that, he fired.

Vader's TIE shredded into nothingness.

Luke fired. "_It's in! Let's get out of here!_" Breathing a sigh of relief, Ben followed the group of 29 fighters, almost completely the size it was when it first left Yavin. They shot away from the doomed station.

* * *

The controller pulled the lever to the end of its reach. Lights flashed around him.

* * *

"Stand by." Grand Moff Tarkin stood with the comm in his hand, ready to give the order. "Stand by."

* * *

Then, hundreds of thousands of troopers, officers, and men and droids' touches on the Force were ended. The explosion was one of the most spectacular things Luke had ever seen. "_Great shot, Kid! That was one in a million!_" Han yelled over the comm. He smiled. Then Ben sent him, _Remember, the Force will be with you. Always_. He looked across his wing to Ben and nodded, giving a two-fingered salute with it. He'd understood.

* * *

Six men stood in company. They were Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker. The doors to the Grand Audience Chamber opened, and the six of them triumphantly marched forward. They were watched, at attention, by the men and women of the Rebel Alliance. At the end of the room waited the chiefs of the Rebellion, and Princess Leia. On arrival, the six stood at attention as they were given Medals of Honor for their Distinguished Service for the Rebel Alliance. 

Artoo-Detoo stood with See-Threepio, both gleaming in full splendor.

The assembled company cheered as the six men turned 'round and faced their fellow Rebels.

* * *

"Luke!" Ben called to Skywalker. 

Smiling, Luke left Wedge to converse with Han, a fellow Corellian, and went to Ben. "Yeah, Ben?"

The elder Jedi wrapped an arm around Luke's shoulders. "I think it is time I showed you the Jedi training I had always planned to give you. I also brought another Master."

"There's another Jedi left? Where is he?" Luke was excited.

Ben smiled. He pointed to a ship that had just landed. It was covered in swamp stains, as if it had been rather unceremoniously dropped into a large pond.

"Right there." The ramp disengaged, and a small figure walked down.

He was wrinkled, green, and had large, pointy ears. There was a lightsaber clipped at his belt. "A long time it has been, Obi-Wan."

"A long time, indeed, my friend."

"Our prospective Jedi, where be he? Meet him, I would."

Ben smiled. "Master Yoda, may I present my apprentice, savior of the Rebellion, Luke Skywalker." The two Jedi exchanged a significant look.

"Ben, will you stop calling me that? All I did was pull a trigger. You're the one who saved my life. You and the other four guys."

Yoda nodded. "Good this is, Obi-Wan. Learned humility, he already has. Well, young Skywalker, shall we begin? We have a long road ahead of us." As the three Jedi walked away from the others, Yoda said, "And what is this 'Ben' nonsense?"

* * *

THREE YEARS LATER

* * *

"Citizens, today we are proud to announce the reformation of the Galactic Republic," Leia Organa Solo spoke from her platform on Coruscant. Palpatine had been destroyed barely three days prior by the three Jedi Masters who stood behind her. 

Master Skywalker smiled at his sister. She's the politician in the family. He stood proudly with Obi-Wan and Yoda, both of whom had trained him. They both had been extremely impressed with his progress and speedy adaptation to the Jedi way. His lightsaber skills were unparalleled by anyone anywhere, being a Master of three Forms—Forms III, IV, and V—and Palpatine, a wizened old man, a true example of evil, was no match for Yoda's speed, Ben's patience, or Luke's aggressiveness. Their three techniques got through his defenses, and destroyed him.

The circumstances following Yavin brought many people together including Han and Leia. At their wedding, Luke's toast had included the first few words of interest in Leia that Han expressed to Luke. They were 'either I'm gonna kill her or I'm gonna learn to like her', and 'you think a Princess and a guy like me' where Han cut him off in the same spot that Luke had three years prior with a vehement 'no'.

* * *

The Republic was returning, and the galaxy, for the first time in more than thirty years, saw dawn. 


	6. Episode V: Missteps

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Premise: What if Luke Skywalker's run-in with Boba Fett had real consequence?

* * *

Luke Skywalker stalks the halls of this city in the clouds from his vision. There appears to be no-one here. Deserted. 

Then he turns a corner, and ducks right back behind it—

For he sees two figures moving a hovering block of something, followed by...Boba Fett.

_That can't be good_. Fett is a bounty hunter, and typically only takes jobs that could get the bounty killed. And he remembers the words Yoda had taught him, from the legendary Jedi Master Bastila Shan: _No one deserves execution, no matter what their crimes._

_Hmmm. She definitely never met Palpatine_. As the three men round the corner, Luke steps forward—

And Artoo bumps into him, squawking. Luke waves him off, then moves to continue—

And Boba Fett steps out and begins to shoot.

* * *

Here the Force steps in once again. It over-rides Skywalker's sense of self-preservation. It enters his feet and drives him to the center of the hall. 

It enters his arm and raises it.

It enters his hand, and aims the blaster.

It enters his index finger...

And it enters Boba Fett's helmet, tilting it up only the slightest bit.

But it is enough.

* * *

Luke Skywalker does not duck behind the wall. _This man is a murderer, not a bounty hunter, and he should not be feared_. He raises his arm, remembering all the good men and women of the Rebellion killed by his hand. He aims his blaster, remembering the number of times he's nearly killed one or more of his friends. 

He aims, and Fett's helmet tilts back the slightest. _Perfect_.

He fires.

Boba Fett falls.

* * *

In the carbon-freezing chamber, Vader stirs. Something has disturbed the Force.

* * *

Then the two Imperials came running from the sound of a body. "Fett, you were ordered not to—" 

Luke shoots them. They fall as fast as Fett.

* * *

Down the hall, the sound of blaster fire caused the Imperials escorting Leia and Chewie to step it up. The sound of bodies falling un-nerved Leia. _What if Luke were dead?_ She worried so that she didn't notice Lando keying in commands on his wristband.

* * *

Luke decided that the suit just might have its advantages. A Jedi or a Rebel would attract attention. Boba Fett would drive all those who would look far away. So as he walked down the halls of Bespin as Boba Fett, he saw some people—all of whom ducked back in their doors immediately. Inside the helmet, Luke smirked. _This might just have an advantage to it after all. _

Then he found the carbonite block. He looked at the features, shocked. It was Han. Twisted and contorted in pain and agony, but it was without a doubt, Han. Using the Force, Luke let it guide his hands, twisting the knobs and controls, and pressing a button. Then the Force told him to step back. He did.

He watched the carbonite block thaw. First, it glowed. Then, his face began to free up. Then his outstretched hands. Then his entire body. Han shook himself, then sat up. He saw Luke—more likely saw _Fett_—and leapt from the carbonite block to his throat. "_You_ _bastard_!"

"Hey, Han, Han, easy, _easy_!" Luke pulled off the helmet to reveal his tow-headed features.

"Wha-Luke!" Han ruffled the kid's hair. "What the hell you doing in Fett's armor?"

"Discourages attention. Fett's back there a ways..." he indicated behind him, "with the two Imps moving you."

"Let's go get one—I'll suit up, and we won't attract too much attention while we find Chewie and Leia." As he said this, he watched a group of Bespin Security pass. The one called Lobot stopped by Han. "Ah, Master Solo. And you must be Master Skywalker. I'll inform Administrator Calrissian that you're both here and that Solo's free." Then he thought. "Incidentally, you may want to avoid the carbonation chambers-Darth Vader has a trap for you there." He followed his team up to where Lando told them to be.

"Think we ought to follow them?" Han asked.

"Not yet." Luke gazed pointedly at Han's clothing as he placed his helmet back on.

"Oh. Right. I knew that."

* * *

An Imperial, an astromech droid, and a Mandalorian charged through Bespin towards the voice of a man saying, "Hold them in the security tower. And keep it quiet. Move." They rounded the corner and saw Lando Calrissian on the floor, being choked by Chewbacca. 

"There's still a chance to save Han..." Lando was struggling to say. "At the East..." he gasped, "Platform..."

"Chewie." Leia called him off, and he released Lando.

Then Leia heard someone walking towards them, and saw Fett. He said, "There'd be little point in going to the East Platform." Then, angered, Leia shot at him.

She was surprised when a blue lightsaber ignited and deflected her shots into the wall. Then she noticed the Imperial and the droid with Fett. Or, more importantly, the Imp's face.

"Han!" She and Chewie ran towards him, and he received a strangling embrace from first Leia, then from the Wookiee.

Lando watched as Fett removed his helmet to reveal a tow-headed man. He had to admit, the sight of Fett without his helmet and with a lightsaber was rather bizarre. "You must be Lando Calrissian. I'm Luke Skywalker." He offered a gloved hand, which Lando took.

"You'd better not go to the carbon freezing chamber-Darth..."

"Vader has a trap waiting, I know. Your lobot told me."

"Good of him. I'll have to thank him when I come back. But we gotta get out of here. What'd you come in on?" Lando asked.

"An X-Wing. Why?"

"You'd better take _Slave I_, Fett's ship. It'll attract less attention."

"What about the X-Wing? And the _Falcon_?"

"We'll have to leave the X-Wing; it's just one, and I think your Rebellion can survive losing an X-Wing a lot better than losing you. And the _Falcon_...she's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. There's no way she won't beat the Imps on the way out."

"Alright, it's a plan," Luke agreed. "But which of us gets to tell the lovebirds over there?" He indicated Han and Leia—

Who were in the middle of a very long, drawn-out kiss. "Hey, Han, old buddy—wanna save that for later so we can maybe get out of here?"

"Fine, fine." He said.

"And Chewie, Leia—walk like you've got those binders on. We'll take you to the _Falcon_, but it's gotta look like you're still in Imperial custody."

"Alright. So Threepio..." Leia looked at the disassembled droid as Luke replaced the helmet on his head. "Be quiet."

* * *

The motley group walked quickly to the Landing platforms where they split up; Han, Leia, Threepio and Chewie took the _Millennium Falcon_, and Lando, Luke and Artoo took _Slave I_. Before they left, though, Calrissian broadcast over the Bespin intercoms: "Attention, this is Lando Calrissian. Attention! The Empire has taken control of the city. I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive." He placed the mike back in the wall and nodded to Luke. "Let's go." 

The three of them ran to the _Slave I_ as they saw thousands of people run into the halls trying to escape. Then there she was; _Slave I_, all fired up and waiting. They almost made it to the ship when—

"And just where do you think you are going with Calrissian, Fett?" Luke turned, and looked at the real form of the doppelganger he'd attacked in the Dagobah cave.

"Get aboard the ship, Calrissian. Take the droid." Behind him, Lando and Artoo scurried aboard as Luke walked toward Vader.

"We have dueled once before, Fett; you recall that I won."

"Hmm. I wouldn't know anything about that." Then Luke ignited his father's lightsaber. The blue plasma emitting from his hand was replicated by Vader's red blade.

"Hmm. You are not Fett." Vader looked into the Force. "Ah; Skywalker. I take it that Fett is no longer among the living?"

"Indeed," Luke said, his voice made almost mechanical by the helmet. "Do I detect a form of regret? Hardly a thing to be worked up about. He _was_ only a bounty hunter."

"Hah. The Force is strong with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet."

And they began.

* * *

Luke struck the initial blow, sparking twice against Vader's guard. Then he swung inwards, and immediately parried an attack from Vader which forced him down. Evading a strike from Vader, his jetpack switched on, and he shot out from under the red blade. 

He moved in the air, and came down on Vader, swinging and blocking as a fine duelist might. Then Vader touched the Force and shoved him back. Luke retaliated, launching a missile from Fett's wristband. Vader leapt, barely dodging the missile.

_Hmm. I _like_ this thing_, Luke thought.

* * *

"Come on, come on. Damn it, Fett, you couldn't make this easy, could you!" Lando swore at the computer. He sparked two wires together. Then a console came on. "Yes!"

* * *

As Vader approached, he suddenly had a warning through the Force. That was the only thing that saved him from the pour of rapid fire from the guns of _Slave I_. He was getting quite irritated at this game. Dodging laser blasts and missile launches was not becoming of a Sith Lord. It also was not what he was supposed to be doing. So he tried throwing rubble at Skywalker. Unfortunately, the helmet Luke wore allowed him to see it coming, and he dodged neatly. Then he picked up all manner of things, and pounded them towards Skywalker. He dodged, spinning and then launching a hail of Force Lightning from his gloved hand at Vader. Vader barely caught the blast on his saber. 

"Hmm. I thought only the Emperor and Sith used that power," Vader said as he switched hi saber to his left hand.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises," Luke said as he blocked, then moved in and severed Vader's left hand. The hand fell into the Bespin atmosphere, as the saber went to Luke's gloved left hand. It was strangely reminiscent of the last Skywalker to hold blue and red blades at a Sith. Vader hoped, though, that it would not end as the last time had.

"Good, Skywalker. You have rage and power in that rage. Use it. The Emperor has not yet realized your importance. Join me, and together we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy."

"I'll never join you," Luke said through the mechanical voice of the helmet.

"If only you knew the power of the Dark Side." Then Vader seemed to think. "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father..."

"He told me enough; that you killed him."

Vader shook his head. "No; _I_ am your father."

Even through two helmets, Vader could see that Skywalker was shaken. "No...that's not true..."

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true."

And Skywalker did. "It...it can't be..."

"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen it. Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy of father and son."

"Hmm. Never." Luke extinguished his sabers, and shoved in the Force. Vader flew back into Cloud City as Luke locked the door behind him. He ran to the Slave I, and boarded it.

* * *

In the atmosphere, _Slave I_ and the _Millennium Falcon_ met and transferred Lando to the _Falcon_. Then the two ships parted ways as the _Falcon_ went to the rendezvous point, the _Slave I_...elsewhere.

* * *

The strange ship entered Dagobah's atmosphere. Yoda sensed the ship coming down, and it came to land in front of his home. From the ship's landing dock, a JediKnight descended.His robes were a mild brown...much like Ben Kenobi's robes. At his belt were two lightsabers. 

"Master Yoda," said Luke Skywalker. "I've returned."

* * *

Author's Note: This is what I think is my best piece since "Pursuing the Right Course". If you think so, or don't think so...review and tell me.

Saying of reviews...

It's great that I have over 6400 hits, and hey, 82 reviews is great.

But...if you do the math, one in 80 people review. 1 in 80. That is pathetic, people. Please, it's not asking much. You just click that little link at the bottom of the page, type a few words, and click 'submit'. Please review!


	7. Episode VI: Mistakes

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Note: The power to instill Yoda's knowledge in another is not a new concept; I have actually taken it from a fellow author; souderwan. My apologies for stealing your idea and using it to my own ends.

* * *

Premise: What might have happened...if Yoda's knowledge were imbued in Luke Skywalker before his death? What, if armed with 900 years of training, wisdom, and experience, would happen next?

* * *

"Earned it, I have," Yoda says as he feels more of himself give in to the call of the Force. 

His final apprentice stares, unbelieving. "Master Yoda, you can't die."

The old Jedi only smiles. "Strong am I in the Force...but not that strong. Twilight is upon me..."

The boy-no, man-continues, "And soon, night must fall. That is the way of things..." he continues as he smiles sadly at his mentor. "The way of the Force."

Yoda smiles. "Taught you well, I have."

* * *

As Yoda speaks these words to his last apprentice, something happens. He does not recognize nor notice this. But it is there. It is so small that it would evade all those who searched for it, but in time, it shall become so great that, as far as they know, it has always been there.

* * *

Yoda smiles. "Taught you well, I have." Then he considers. "But all that I can, I have not." 

The apprentice looks up. "What do you mean?"

Yoda breathes in, despite the pain it brings. "A technique in the Force there is, where the knowledge of one to another can be given. But difficult it is; open to it, both must be. And be clear of mind, the receiver must be," he finishes as he looks pointedly at the Jedi.

The apprentice centers himself, and speaks. "I sense it...so much," he whispers.

"Open to it...much there is, you must know...for when gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be. A legacy, unbecoming it is. Not one that associated with you should be. Clear your mind, and accept."

And the young Jedi does.

* * *

Across the boundaries of space and time, the Force has no limits, no rules-no guidelines. It can go where it wills, and touch anything. But its touch must be echoed in the touched for anything to occur. Life echoes its touch, but those with the Force can actually touch back. That is what gives them their strength-the ability to connect directly to it. 

The apprentice is more than a touch.

The apprentice is to others in the Force as a touch is to a tackle.

* * *

This, then, is what it is to be Yoda, Grand Master of the Jedi, one last time: 

You see all there is to see- the present, the future, and the past.

You see the apprentice's friends, waiting anxiously for him to return from his mysterious outing. You see the love that secretly burns in them for each other as they watch from an orbit around Sullust. You see the sad truth that neither will fully express it with marriage for another 3 years.

Some things never change.

You see the apprentice become more powerful than you. You see the glory that will come to him as the hero of the Republic to come. You see his fall to the Dark Side. You see his triumphant return as the next Jedi Master. You see the beautiful wife he shall take. You see his son's birth. You see his final end; not one born of the many adventures he has undertaken, nor the countless enemies he makes, but another way that is unclear to you-shrouded by the return of the Dark Side.

You see the apprentice's father in the old Temple. You see the brash, confident, likable young man that he was. You see the willingness to forsake anything to save those he loves. You see the warm, charming presence that made him the poster boy of his Republic-much the way his son will be for his respective Republic. You see the father's fall to the Dark-but his future is uncertain...changed, somehow...

Perhaps changed by the apprentice. After all, your future is what you make it-nothing is written.

This apprentice, you realize, is still much like his father; intelligent, loving, idealistic, headstrong...and a blaze of pure power.

You also see how he is not like his father; he has tempered with age-the idealism remains, but it is tempered, calm. Serene. You see the handle he has on the energy that connects he and you...and the pathway to give him your knowledge...for soon, you will be in that grand Jedi Temple once more, with your old friends, Qui-Gon Jinn and Mace Windu. You smile wanly as you see that this is the end now. After a long, bumpy road lasting 900 years, living through generations of friends and enemies, this is it-the last full measure. This is your death.

This is what it is to be Yoda, for the last time.

* * *

The apprentice is amazed at the feel of the flow of the Force connecting he and Yoda. It is like an eclipse; dangerous to look at, impossible to look away from. 

Finally, it is over. Yoda sags, as though a great weight has been lifted off of his shoulders for the first time in...well...centuries.

"Finished it is."

The apprentice stares off for a time, trying to come to terms with the sudden imparting of Yoda's memories. Then, he returns his gaze to Yoda. "It is finished."

Yoda smiles for the last time. "One thing left to do, you have. Confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be. And confront him, you will." He begins to roll over, as if only going to sleep.

"Master..." The apprentice pauses.

"The answer to your question, know it already you do."

The Jedi nods. "Yes."

"Told you, did he?"

The apprentice only nods.

Yoda saddens. "Unexpected this is. And unfortunate." He realizes that the apprentice will take the words the wrong way.

"Unfortunate that I know the truth? Or unfortunate that I rushed to face him, without complete training?"

_Hmm. An insight, incapable of, he should be,_ Yoda muses. Then he remembers. _No, it is not_.

"Not ready for the burden, were you," Yoda says.

"I'm sorry. You were right, and I was wrong."

_Good, this is. See both sides, he does. Finished, my work is_. "Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware...anger, fear, aggression...destroy you, they will." Reaching into the Force, painful though it was, Yoda sees the intense fear churning in the boy. "Your fear, let it go, you must. Remember my words, you must; clear your mind, and accept."

He nods. He has no need to tell the boy of his sister-he already knows now. Now, Yoda is complete. He turns to the Force, and enters its embrace as he speaks to the boy one final time. "May...the Force...be...with...you..."

And Yoda is dead. The apprentice stares momentarily, still not believing. Then he feels the echo in the Force, and in it, sees the truth. He is the last Jedi. Then there is sadness as he returns his gaze to what was Yoda. The old Jedi Master's body dissolves and vanishes into the Force.

And Luke Skywalker is alone.

* * *

On the Death Star II, Emperor Palpatine walks with Darth Vader. "And now, I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker." 

"Yes, my Master."

"Patience, my friend." Palpatine paused. "Stay near me for now, Vader. It seems that some things have not gone as foreseen, but I am confident things shall right themselves."

"As you wish."

* * *

"What now?" Luke said as he stood with R2 and his X-Wing, and stared at the Dagobah sky. 

"You know the answer to that, Luke." Skywalker turned to see his first master and his friend.

"Obi-Wan."

The Force ghost said nothing, only smiled. It was self-evident who he was.

"Why did you not tell me?"

"Must you ask me that? Look through the Force. See the possible pasts...and futures...if I had told you."

So Luke looked. And what he saw disturbed him.

If Ben had told him firsthand...he would not have left the Death Star with Han and Leia; he'd go to his father, confused and unsure. He would have been brought before the Emperor. And without the next three years to awaken some emotions in Vader, he would have been killed. And the Rebellion with him...as there was no extra gunner on the _Falcon_, she exploded...no-one fired the proton torpedo to save Yavin...and the galaxy would complete it's descent into darkness...

If they'd told him before he left for Bespin...he'd have been unwilling to defend himself against Vader, naively believing he'd not strike down his own son...and he'd be reluctant...but he would...and Vader would not be unwilling to shoot down the _Falcon_...and the same end result...

There was no way they could have told him...and not have doomed the galaxy.

"Palpatine twisted Anakin into Vader. Since he had not been taught from birth to be free of hate and rage like most Jedi, he hung on to them. And Palpatine was always there, so he could tell him anything...and Palpatine whispered into his ear thoughts that the Jedi didn't trust him...and so he didn't trust them, either. That, ultimately, led to his downfall.

"If he had come to us with the fact that he were married, we would have accepted it. One of the Masters on the Jedi Council, at the time, had five wives, but he was not disowned. But Anakin would not see this...would not see our love...and his need for power was fueled by Palpatine, to ultimately turn him into Vader."

"Do you believe that he can be saved, Ben?"

He thought. "I do not know, Luke. He has been enshrouded in darkness for so long, now...ever since that day on Mustafar, he's never truly been human. He's more machine than man—twisted and evil. But if it can be done, it will be a miracle that only you can undertake."

Luke looked at Ben. "But what of my sister, Leia?"

"Hmm. She's known him as Vader too long, and seen too many of his evil actions. He may help, but it would take time...time that we do not have."

Luke looked into the future and saw...he was right. There was no time.

"Bury your feelings, and newfound power, deep down in you, Luke. That will be the only advantage you'll have against Lord Vader...and Darth Sidious."

* * *

SEVERAL DAYS LATER

* * *

"This is a Rebel that surrendered to us." Vader looked, unbelieving, at the man before him. "Although he denies it, I believe there may be more of them out there, and request permission for a further search of the area." The officer paused, then held out his hand. "He was armed only with this." Vader took the lightsaber from him. 

"Good work, Commander. Leave us. Conduct your search, and bring his companions to me."

"Yes, m'lord." The commander and his men left, leaving Vader and Skywalker alone. Luke quietly thought about the fact that he had told Leia they were brother and sister, but not mentioned Vader; he'd only referred to him as Anakin Skywalker, and said that he was imprisoned somewhere on the Death Star.

The truth from a certain point of view.

Vader looked at him. Much had changed in him in the past year since he'd last seen him. He was calm, confident...serene, almost.

He looked so much like himself at that age. It stirred more of the emotions of Anakin Skywalker that Vader fought badly to repress.

"The Emperor has been expecting you," he intoned in the deep voice the machine gave him.

"I know, Anakin," Luke said.

Vader spun on his heel. "That name has no meaning for me."

"It seems that it does—why else would you react like this? I know that Palpatine has driven hate and fear deep into your mind...but your soul is intact...still the good man that my father was. That's why you wouldn't destroy me...why you won't take me to Sidious now."

The blasted boy was so assured of himself.

So very correct, too.

So he focused on a characteristic of Vader—weapons collector. He ignited Luke's saber-green. Like_ Qui-Gon's_. Angered, he fought down the memory of the old Jedi. "I see you have constructed a new lightsaber." _An impressive one, too. No unnecessary knobs or decorations like some Jedi_—_or Sith_—_have done with theirs_. "Most impressive." He looked at his son. Your skills are complete." He extinguished the blade, and looked at his son through the Force.. "Indeed you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen."

Luke turned to him. "Come with me."

Vader sighed. _So _that's_ why he turned himself in_. "Obi-Wan once thought as you do." He turned to his son wearily. "You don't know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master."

"Must you, now? You think I don't know the Dark Side's power?" Luke asked him, examining his right hand—one that Vader sensed was mechanical—like his own. Vader frowned in his helmet. He'd foreseen this conversation, but this was not how it went.

"You haven't been tainted by it for twenty years. The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins. It is everywhere—in your heart, in mine, even in the night sky. You notice that the stars have a backdrop of black-that when you travel through space, it is dark. The brightest light casts the darkest shadow, Luke. And eventually, even stars burn out," Vader said, remembering Obi-Wan's words to him.

"Yes."

"Yes?" Vader was confused.

Luke smiled. "Yes; the dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins-but in the heart of its strength lies weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back. Love is more than a candle, Anakin—love can ignite the stars." Luke stopped, and watched.

* * *

This is what it is to be Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, right now: 

Conflict. You remember the past twenty-three years—twenty-three years of evil, hatred, misery...cruelty beyond belief. You remember the darkness that has held you for so long.

But you also see the wisdom in your son's words. You see that...

He is right.

The spark of love you held for him when he was still an unborn baby is rekindled, and in that, Anakin grows. He grows until all-out war wages between Vader and Anakin.

You hear Luke. _You turned from light once...turn from the dark now. There is no love, no mercy, and no kindness there. We're waiting, Anakin. Come back. Come back to us, Father._

And that point is the catalyst, the distraction of one side that the other needs. And one of you emerges from this inner battle, victorious.

This is what it is to be...

Anakin Skywalker.

* * *

The Force has no limits—it has no guidelines. 

And no rules.

The healing power of the Force is beyond belief in Anakin Skywalker. The Force regenerates his burned, scarred lips, tongue, and throat.

His lungs.

He can feel his hair growing back as the scars from Mustafar fade into oblivion. He feels his limbs replace the cybernetic replacements. Not shove them off—they simply disappear, replaced by his true legs. His left hand returns as flesh-and-blood.

And Anakin Skywalker has risen.

* * *

Luke saw the battle in his father end. He saw the change in stance as Vader turned to him and said... "Son...my boy..." 

Luke smiled. "Welcome back, Father.

"Welcome back to the light."

* * *

"What shall we do with Palpatine? We both agree he must be stopped, do we not?" 

"Indeed. But that is why I came—to face him…and you," Luke finished.

"I shall not interfere—I am to new from the Force, and I may fall back to the Dark Side. So I shall remain neutral."

"Alright. I'm fairly confident that I can defeat him, anyway."

"Luke, you do not know the power of the Emperor. He is a skilled swordsman—skilled enough to beat Yoda," he reminisced. "And powerful—incredibly powerful."

"Yes, he is. But have no fear—I think I can do it. Come—let's meet our Emperor."

* * *

The Skywalkers entered the chamber of the Emperor. 

Immediately, Luke unlocked his binders through the Force, and spread his arms to show this. When the Royal Guards and Vader moved to attack, Luke merely flicked his hand, and sent them flying into the wall with a sickening impact, then let the Guards crumple to the floor, keeping Vader pinned on the wall.

Appearances did have to be maintained.

The Emperor's Throne turned. "Welcome, young Skywalker."

Luke nodded. "I have come to pay homage, Emperor...or...should I call you Darth Sidious?"

The Emperor frowned, recalling like words from a long time ago. "You speak as Master Yoda." Then he realized. "He survived."

"Surprised?" _Blast it, but this Skywalker is arrogant_.

"Your arrogance blinds you as it did Yoda, young Skywalker. Now you will experience the full power of the Dark Side." Palpatine rose his hands and blasted at Luke with lightning. The horrid power shot at him...and was caught in Luke's raised right hand. Palpatine snarled and pushed into the Force, sending more energy that was once again, caught in Skywalker's hand. Palpatine finally stopped, seeing the futility in continuing.

"Hmm. I'm not impressed." Luke then shoved with the newfound energy that he'd absorbed and sent Palpatine pitching into his chair, then into the transparisteel behind him. Such was the force behind the shove that the transparisteel cracked. "Your rule is at an end, Sidious. And it wasn't short enough." Palpatine staggered to his feet, then Force-jumped to the turbolift...

Where Skywalker waited. "If you're so powerful, My Emperor," he said mockingly as he ignited a green blade, "why leave?"

Sidious had a flashback then, remembering 23 years before, when Yoda had done this. _Same blade color, too_.

"You will not stop me. Lord Vader is more powerful than either of us," he snarled as a red blade shot from his hand. He hadn't used it since the fight with Yoda, but Skywalker was a boy—no match for him...or Vader.

"Faith in your apprentice..." Luke left off as he released his hold on Vader, allowing him to drop to the ground, where he landed like a cat—

Then stood as if they were not in the room. "May be misplaced," Luke finished. "As is your faith in the Dark Side of the Force."

Infuriated, Sidious swung. Luke blocked. Again, he swung. Luke blocked again.

Swing.

Block.

Swing.

Block.

On the fifth block, Luke strained a little. Sidious cackled and broke into a stab.

One that Skywalker could not block. So instead, he leapt clear of it. Such was the force of his leap that he was on the wall, hanging onto some piping as he looked down on Sidious, blade still ignited. Then both of their blades switched off as he began to tear parts off the wall and hurl them at Luke.

He neatly dodged them, hopping from pipe to outcropping to wire to pipe. Then, Palpatine ripped up a walkway and threw it at Luke. Luke grabbed it in the Force and stilled it. Then he heard Palpatine's arrogant laugh, saying he thought he'd won. So he entered the Force, and began to spin the walkway. First one way, then another, and then another.

He shoved the spinning walkway back at Palpatine, who barely dodged it, leaping onto a walkway above his throne.

Where Luke leapt up to meet him. Palpatine fired lightning at Luke Skywalker, blasting with all his force. As he dropped his saber, Luke's hands were raised, capturing the energy. The lightning blazed around them as Luke's blue eyes glared into Palpatine's yellow-orange eyes. Then the energy was forced back, and exploded, forcing the two over the edge.

Palpatine landed badly.

Luke landed like a cat.

Then something flew to Skywalker's hand. Then a red blade ignited in his right hand, called from Vader's belt.

Vader had said _he'd_ remain neutral; he'd said nothing of his weapons.

* * *

In the furious lightsaber duel that ensued, Palpatine came to realize that he wasn't facing Luke Skywalker. He looked through the Force, and saw that he had Yoda's power now. This was worrisome. He could beat Skywalker. He could even beat Yoda. But the two of them in one... 

_Hmm. This is a problem._

Then Skywalker swung dangerously close to Sidious's body, forcing him to leap back.

Then Luke Skywalker was a flurry of blade and energy, a force with such power that Sidious could not attack, but only give ground fast. The red blur that was Skywalker pressed him back...

Back...

Back...

Back...

Until suddenly there was a sharp pain in Sidious's right hand, and his blade went soaring into the air...

And into Skywalker's outreached hand. Sidious fell to his knees as two red blades crossed together in front of his neck. _Déjà vu_, he thought wanly, recalling another Skywalker holding two blades at a Sith's neck. He also remembered how that turned out.

Sidious cackled. "Don't you realize, Skywalker? I've won. If you don't kill me, I'll kill you. If you do kill me, unarmed, you give in to the Dark Side. I win." He smiled as he saw Skywalker falter. The look of the youth armed with two red blades was intimidating...Sith-like.

"There is a third option, Sidious," a voice said as a third blade ignited. This brought a new feeling into Sidious, one he'd not felt in a very long time.

Fear.

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, held a green blade, and pointed it at Sidious's heart. "_I_ can kill you."

* * *

"I have already been turned to the Dark Side; I can fall no lower; killing an unarmed man is nothing new to me." He raised his blade, and mirrored the words from so long ago, words that a Master of the Jedi Order had used. "In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you're under arrest, Chancellor." 

Palpatine sneered. "Are you threatening me, _Master Jedi_?"

"We shall call a new Senate; they will decide your fate."

"Whatever Senate you call, _I _will control it," Sidious spat.

"I don't think so," Luke smiled.

"Hmm." He turned to Vader. "It's treason, then."

"Treachery _is_ the way of the Sith," Anakin shrugged. Then Vader moved to plunge in the blade, but Luke stopped him.

"Father—he must stand trial."

"He controls _everything_, Luke—don't you understand that?"

"What about a Rebel Court?"

"Too partisan—he'd be convicted outright. No, Luke, this is the only way; he has to die."

Then Sidious snarled. "No, no, _you_ will die!" He shot lightning from his hands.

At Luke.

Caught unawares, Luke dropped both sabers and was shot back into the wall. The impact knocked him senseless. He fell to the ground and didn't move.

This Sidious found extremely gratifying. He called his lightsaber to him.

Now, as for Vader—

Which was as far as Sidious got, because by the time his attention returned to the younger Sith, his vision was rather completely obstructed by the sole of a black boot approaching his face with something resembling terminal velocity.

Palpatine found himself having a sudden, unexpected, overpowering, and entirely distressing bad feeling about this...

* * *

The impact was a blast of white fire, and there was a second impact as he ran into the wall. He ignited his blade and fought Vader. 

Vader calmly gave ground—too calmly. Palpatine became worried.

"As you should be," Vader said darkly. _Damn Jedi, reading my mind_. Then he realized—_Vader is no longer a Sith._

_He's a Jedi._

Snarling, he leaned on his saber in a block, then rose a hand and blasted Skywalker in the face with a rage of lightning. Skywalker spun, dazed. Sidious extinguished his blade, laughing madly. "I've won, Skywalker. Give up."

Then Anakin threw his helmet off, turned round, and what Palpatine saw shook him to the core.

Vader's mask had been blasted off. In it's stead was not the frail, defeated man that had first been placed there, but…

Anakin. Sure, he looked far older; gray seeped into his temples—_he had hair!_—but his eyes were the same-intense…and determined.

_Oh, this is_ bad.

Anakin dueled ferociously as Sidious was forced back to the walkway. Then he spoke as he swung.

"You took my friends." He stabbed, barely missing.

"You took my wife!" He swung so angrily that Sidious barely blocked it.

"_You shall not take my son!_" He forced Palpatine down, grabbed his left hand, and cut it off.

Palpatine found himself at the feet of a second Skywalker in as many minutes.

But Anakin did not kill him. "You are under arrest, my lord."

"Bah! You'll never leave this place alive!" An empty threat, Palpatine saw, as he looked into the future. He did escape the room with Luke-but beyond that, he knew nothing else.

Anakin knew it, too.

As Palpatine called the Force to him to destroy the room-and all in it- a voice sounded behind him. A voice that knew what he planned. "Perhaps. But neither will you." A red blade cut him in half. Then a Force-shove guided Anakin away from Palpatine…

As he exploded into a blue rage of dark-side energies. Then, the rage ended, and there were only the Skywalkers.

Luke extinguished his father's red blade, and looked as his father extinguished his son's green blade.

"Let's get out of here—your Rebel friends are going to blow this place apart!"

* * *

The shots are made. A proton torpedo and six lasers are shot into the Death Star's core. 

Predictably, it doesn't handle the new arrivals too well.

As the immense station explodes, a shuttle escapes the dying Death Star.

A shuttle carrying two Jedi Masters.

* * *

The galaxy reacted incredibly to the news from Endor. 

Palpatine was dead at last. He had been killed by Luke Skywalker and his father, the legendary Anakin Skywalker—The Hero With No Fear. Anakin had been in Imperial custody for the past 23 years, waiting for the right moment to return. When he was transferred to the Second Death Star, he broke free and assisted his son in confronting, and killing, Palpatine. His son, who had spent the past several years trying to find Anakin, then found out the Emperor had brought him to the Death Star II.

It _was_ the truth. From a certain point of view.

The results were incredible, too. The return of Anakin Skywalker was a rallying point for Rebels, and a reason to defect for untold thousands of Imperials. Many remembered the days when Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi were household names-the things of legend. They remembered how selflessly they'd fought for the Republic, for it's people, and when it was seen he was allied with the Rebel Alliance—New Republic—they flocked to join the new government.

And many more things were changed from that. Because of his return, one Captain Gilad Pellaeon came to the Alliance, offering his services. Along with one called Mitth'raw'nuruodo—Grand Admiral Thrawn. Anakin showed him the true views of the Jedi, and the extent of Palpatine's evil—including the Dark Jedi Jorus C'baoth's invasion of Chiss space.

With him came the Chiss Ascendancy, and the Empire came to the New Republic joyfully within one year. Within one year, there remained only the staunchest Imperialists, hidden deep in the Galactic Core, where none were inclined to haul them out.

And for twenty years after that, the galaxy grew in unity, peace, and prosperity—though the military was always fully maintained at combined Imperial-Rebel strength. The Jedi Order quickly returned to it's former prominence and glory, with many old Jedi Masters and Knights, such as Empatojayos Brand, Quinlan Vos, and Vima-da-Boda returning from the shadows of the galaxy.

Anakin Skywalker did not plan, however, on allowing the Jedi way to be the only thing taught; the inherent flaws in the system were obvious—the lack of attachment outside the Temple walls made the old Jedi Order seem aloof and distant. So many other Force-wielding groups were welcomed—the Jensaari, the Aing-Tii, the Fallanassi, and the Witches of Dathomir all had teachers, students, and masters at the Praxeum on Yavin 4. All ways were taught and learned, and the Jedi became far more in tune with the Force around them.

The New Jedi Order maintained peace and justice throughout the galaxy.

Mara Jade met Luke Skywalker, looking for somewhere to develop her already strong power in the Force. They married barely two years later.

The Hapes Consortium ordeal went out as foreseen, although barely two years after Endor—the year Thrawn joined. An attempted assassination of Teneniel Djo instead killed former Queen Mother Ta'a Chume. Many ghosts of her ruthless schemes were put to rest with that merciful misfire.

Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo were born.

The cloned Emperor, upon his return from the Deep Core, was crushed within a few days by a ten thousand member Jedi Order, and a Navy to rival any the galaxy had ever known.

Jaina Solo and Jagged Fel met at the Chiss Academy when Jaina looked for the best and most difficult military school in the galaxy. It is not hard to guess the results from there.

Anakin Solo met a Tusken-raised child named Tahiri Veila at the Jedi Academy. The rest of that can also be surmised.

Kyp Durron became Anakin Skywalker's apprentice, and the two were closer than friends-much the relationship that Anakin and Obi-Wan had had, in later years; one of respect, brotherhood, good friendship...and two halves of one whole when they fought.

A Jedi Council was formed with nine members; Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker, Leia Organa Solo, Anakin Skywalker, Kyp Durron, Corran Horn, Kyle Katarn, and Shira Brie—the once-Sith Lady Lumiya, turned from the dark by Anakin's efforts.

Darth Vader's armor had been found in the Endor forests, burned and charred—a fitting end, considering his birth. Remains were found, but never identified. The only people to ever know Anakin's identity as Darth Vader were Luke, Leia, Mara, and Shira.

Then, those twenty years later, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the Galactic Rim.


	8. New Concepts

Hey there, everybody. Just thought that I would inform you all that I am reopening this fic. I received several excellent ideas for Alternate Universes where the Dark Side triumphed, and I am implementing them as you read this. I shall have Episode One ready in two or three days. If anyone has ideas for the other five films, I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks for your support.


	9. Episode I: Phantom Menaces

Episode I: Phantom Menaces

* * *

The lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Darth Maul rages. 

Thousands of kilometers away, the Gungan army engages the droid armies of the Federation.

Not far from the clash of lightsabers, the Trade Federation viceroy sits in the Naboo throne room, glowering at the evicted Queen.

To Lord Sidious, all is going as planned.

* * *

Then the Dark Side of the Force steps in. 

Some believe that the Force does not have sides. That it is only the user and intent that determines good or evil.

That is a lie.

The Dark Side sets a chain of events in motion that will irrevocably shatter the galaxy's present course.

A Sith Lord receives enlightenment.

A droid aims its blaster rifle at a target.

An expatriate Queen pulls several blasters out of her throne.

* * *

Obi-Wan swung, then parried fast as he could. Damned if this Sith would defeat him. But damned if he was going to beat the Sith, either. 

He and Qui-Gon were running out of strength, and the Sith, powered by rage, had no end in sight. Perhaps they could drive him into that power generator, but they could be separated by those laser walls, and then—

A sudden warning came through the Force. Obi-Wan ducked-not a moment too soon, as the Sith stabbed his lightsaber at Kenobi's head. Then Obi-Wan looked up at the Zabrak, glaring. The Zabrak Sith glared back.

Then Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn felt the same burning sensation. Both looked down to see crimson blades extending from their chests, the Zabrak's staff somehow turned into two single-hilt weapons. Drawing on the last bit of strength they have, they both stab the Sith. Sensing his death, they concede to the Force.

The Jedi die.

* * *

Jar-Jar Binks ran. What else could he do? The Droid Army was charging after him, and he was no soldier, let alone a general. Then there as the realization that if he did nothing, he and his friends would die. Armed with new determination, he swung back to the battlefield— 

And suddenly, pain. He fell to the ground as he felt a burn in his side. He rolled over. A droid stepped up, and raised its blaster. Jar-Jar, in his last moments, guessed that they'd die anyway.

Then the droid fired. And there was nothingness.

* * *

"Viceroy! Your occupation here has ended!" Right on time, Sabé shot three droids and ran off. 

"Get her! This one's a decoy!" Viceroy Gunray ordered his droids into motion. Then, Padmé leapt to her desks, and pressed the hidden button. Three blaster pistols came out. One went to her, another to Captain Panaka, a final to a soldier. "Captain!" She shouted as she shot at droids.

Then a droid fired at her. She ducked behind some tall cloth-like object, and it fired again.

Into Viceroy Gunray's chest. Gunray groaned and fell, dead.

* * *

In his Coruscant hideaway, Senator Palpatine—Darth Sidious—roared in triumph. The Jedi had died, and so had those retched creatures; the Neimoidian Gunray, and the Gungan Binks. Disgusting freaks. 

He sensed another Force-sensitive on Naboo. One who would be perfect as Lord Maul's replacement.

* * *

"Congratulations on your election, Chancellor," Queen Amidala smiled at Palpatine. 

"Your boldness has saved our people, Your Majesty; it is _you_ who ought to be congratulated." He smiled broadly at his Queen. "Together, we shall bring peace and prosperity to the Republic."

Behind him, several Jedi departed from the shuttle. They coldly regarded Skywalker, and then moved on towards the room where Master Jinn and his Padawan, Kenobi, lay in state.

* * *

Anakin Skywalker was met by Master Yoda. He knew that the news wouldn't be good. 

"Decided, we have, on your fate." The old Jedi Master told Anakin, "Train you, we will not."

* * *

In a small funeral, there are two bodies being set ablaze. One is Qui-Gon Jinn, the other Obi-Wan Kenobi. Chancellor Palpatine watches the proceedings as young Skywalker enters. He sits down, and looks at the boy. "What is wrong, my dear boy?" 

"The Jedi won't train me. They decided that I'm too dangerous, too old."

Behind his mask of Palpatine and sympathy, Sidious grins widely. _Even better than I'd hoped_. "Would you care to walk with me, Anakin?"

As the two left the funeral, Yoda said to Mace Windu, "Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an Apprentice."

"But which was destroyed; the Master, or the Apprentice?"

* * *

TEN YEARS LATER

* * *

"Focus, Lord Vader. Our time is near." 

"Yes, Master." Vader looked at his Master. "My lord, what if Master Windu or Yoda should confront me?"

"Worry not, my apprentice. Master Windu uses Vaapad, but he remains on the Light Side, so he is held back in his power. Your own Vaapad will blast through his. And Master Yoda...If he confronts you, be wary. You know his technique."

"Ataro, with its silly acrobatics, is it not?"

"Yes. Use your hatred, and your imagination. But if you can avoid fighting him, do so. I would very much like to destroy the Avatar of Light myself."

"As you wish, Master."

* * *

The Jedi Temple was unguarded. They did not expect assault. 

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, intended to make them pay for their humiliation of him a decade previously. He sliced through Jedi with contempt and ease. He took particular pleasure in removing the head of a trainer. Then a Jedi came at him. A blue Twi'lek, she wore leather instead of the typical Jedi garb. Instead of killing her, he bashed her over the head. She could be of use later...

He grinned evilly as he entered the Council Chambers. There were no Masters here—but Windu or Yoda would come.

* * *

Lord Sidious strode into the Jedi Temple. He smiled at the dirty pleasure of it. Then he sensed a presence. He turned. "Master Windu." 

"Chancellor Palpatine?" The Korun Jedi was confused. He recovered quickly, though, and ignited a violet blade. "You are a Sith Lord!"

"Thank you very much for stating the obvious, Master Windu." A red blade came from Sidious's hand. In the fierce duel that initiated, Mace Windu's Form VII was put to the test. But Sidious was only as good a swordsman, no better. But the Dark Side fueled Sidious's rage, and in the end, he was the better.

Mace Windu fell.

* * *

The evil Sith went to leave the Council chambers, and descend to his Master. But he was stopped by a little green troll; one who did not glare with hate but remorse. "Skywalker." 

"Master Yoda."

"Changed much, you have."

"Really? Perhaps it is only your perception of me that has changed."

"Wish to kill you, I do not."

"Hmm. How unfortunate that I don't share the same wishes."

Yoda looked sad. "A decent man, you might have been, Skywalker. Hate to kill you, I do."

Skywalker grinned evilly. "You seem like a decent man, Master Yoda. I hate to die."

"End this, let us." An emerald blade came into being, and was levelled at Skywalker—Vader, Yoda realized.

Then Vader's blade ignited. Yoda inhaled. It was not the crimson blade one might expect of a Sith Lord, but a sapphire blade instead. "Begin," Vader said, as if they were in a mere practice duel.

Yoda's green blade spun in an incredible display of Ataro. Vader, were he a lesser duelist, would have been cut to pieces.

Vader was obviously not a lesser duelist. He stood exactly where he had when the sabers ignited, and met all of Yoda's assaults without even moving.

Then he moved. Yoda backpedaled against the ferocity of Vader's powerful Form VII. His Ataro simply didn't generate the power to evenly match it.

Then he was very nearly decapitated by a Council chair. Items around the room flew at Yoda, making it almost impossible for him to focus on his defense against Vader's blade and Force-assault.

* * *

The man fought grandly against his enemy, but in the end, his power wasn't enough. His blade could not parry the blinding assault of the other's. 

Then a blade of plasma made it through, and there was a smoking hole in the man's chest.

Then there was only nothingness.

* * *

Darth Sidious ascended in the turbolift to the Council Chambers. He knew that a ferocious duel had occurred, but he did not know the victor. 

When the door opened, he saw two things.

1.) A corpse on the floor

2.) A person sitting in a Council chair directly facing the door.

The one in the chair did not rise. He simply said, "Welcome, Lord Sidious."

"A fine job, Lord Vader."

Now Vader rose. He strode towards his Master, who noted that there was a very small lightsaber clipped to his belt. "The lightsaber is Yoda's?"

"It is. And the one on your belt is Master Windu's, I imagine."

"We seem to have a penchant for rather gruesome trophies, do we not, Vader?"

"Indeed, my lord." Vader turned to observe the Coruscanti night. "Now what?"

"Now, Lord Vader," Sidious strode forward to stand next to his apprentice, "the galaxy is ours."

* * *

A/N: Need ideas for IV and VI. PLEASE HELP! REVIEW! 


	10. Episode II

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

* * *

As I said before, the Dark Side truly won this time around. This was a true example of the genius in Palpatine's manipulations. However, if there are ideas for it, please give them to me. 


	11. Episode III: Revenge

Episode III: Revenge

* * *

In the main holocom center of the Jedi Temple, high atop the central spire, Obi-Wan used the Force to reach deep within the shell of the recall mechanism, subtly altering the pulse calibration to flip the signal from _come home_ to _run and hide_. Done without any visible alteration, it would taker the clones quite a while to detect the calibration, and longer still to reset it. This was all that could be done for any surviving Jedi: a warning, to give them a fighting chance.

Obi-Wan turned from the recall beacon to the internal security scans. He had to find out exactly what he was warning them against.

"Do this not," Yoda said. "Leave we must, before discovered we are."

"I have to _see_ it," Obi-Wan said grimly. "Like I said downstairs, knowing is one thing. Seeing is another."

"Seeing will only cause you pain."

"Then it is pain I have earned. I won't hide from it." He keyed a code that brought up a holoscan of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. "I am not afraid."

Yoda's eyes narrowed to green-gold slits. "You should be."

Stone-faced, Obi-Wan watched younglings run into the room, fleeing a storm of blasterfire; he watched Cin Drallig and a pair of teenage Padawans—was that Whie, the boy Yoda had brought to Vjun?—backing into the scene, blades whirling, cutting down the advancing clone troopers with deflected shots.

He watched a lightsaber blade flick into the shot, cutting down first one Padawan, then the other. He watched the brisk stride of a caped figure who hacked through Drallig's shoulder, then stood aside as the old Troll fell dying to let the rest of the clones blast the children to shreds.

Obi-Wan's expression never flickered.

He opened himself to what he was about to see; he was prepared, and centered, and trusting in the Force, and yet...

* * *

The Dark Side creeps up on Master Kenobi. It is subtle, enough so that Master Yoda does not sense it. It comes to Kenobi, and sensing his foolish, flickering trust in the Force, enters.

* * *

Then the caped man turned to meet a cloaked figure behind him, and he was—

He was—

Obi-Wan, staring, wished he had the strength to rip his eyes out of his head.

But even blind, he would see this forever.

He would see his friend, his student, his brother, turn and kneel in front of a black-cloaked Lord of the Sith.

His head rang with a silent scream.

_"The traitors have been destroyed, Lord Sidious. And the archives are secured. Our ancient holocrons are again in the hands of the Sith."_

_"Good...good...Together, we shall master every secret of the Force."_ The Sith Lord purred like a contented rancor. _"You have done well, my new apprentice. Do you feel your power growing?"_

_"Yes, my Master."_

_"Lord Vader, your skills are unmatched by any Sith before you. Go forth, my boy. Go forth, and bring peace to our Empire."_

Fumbling nervously, Obi-Wan somehow managed to shut down the holoscan. He leaned on the console, but his arms would not support him; they buckled and he twisted to the floor.

He huddled against the console, contorted with pain.

Yoda was as sympathetic as the root of a wroshyr tree. "Warned, you were."

Then Obi-Wan looked up. Yoda looked into his fellow Jedi Master's eyes.

There were emotions to be expected; pain, suffering, agony, misery, sadness...

And cold anger.

* * *

C-3PO identified the craft docking on the veranda as a DC0052 Intergalactic Speeder; to be on the safe side, he left the security curtain engaged.

In these troubled times, safety outweighed courtesy, even for him.

A cloaked and hooded human male emerged from the DC0052 and approached the veil of energy. C-3PO moved to meet him. "Hello, may I help you?"

The human lifted his hands to his hood; instead of taking it down, he folded it back far enough that C-3PO could register the distinctive relationship of eyes, nose, mouth, and beard.

"Master Kenobi!" C-3PO had long ago been given detailed and quite specific details on the procedure for dealing with the unexpected arrival of furtive Jedi.

He instantly deactivated the security curtain and beckoned. "Come inside, quickly. You may be seen."

As C-3PO swiftly ushered him into the sitting room, Master Kenobi asked, "Has Anakin been here?"

"Yes," C-3PO said reluctantly. "He arrived shortly after he and the army saved the Republic from the Jedi Rebellion—"

He cut himself off when he noticed that Master Kenobi suddenly looked fully prepared to dismantle him bolt by bolt. Perhaps he should not have been so quick to let the Jedi in.

Wasn't he some sort of outlaw, now?

"I, ah, I should—" C-3PO stammered, backing away. "I'll just go get the Senator, shall I? She's been lying down—after the Grand Convocation this morning, she didn't feel entirely well, and so—"

The Senator appeared at the top of the curving stairway, belting a soft robe over her dressing gown, and C-3PO decided his most appropriate course of action would be to discreetly withdraw.

But not too far; if Master Kenobi was up to mischief, C-3PO had to be in a position to alert Captain Typho and the security staff on the spot.

* * *

"When was the last time you saw him? Do you know where he is?"

"No."

"Padmé, you must help me. Anakin must be found. He must be stopped."

"How can you _say_ that?" Padmé pulled back from him and turned away, folding her arms over the curve of her belly. "He's just won the war!"

"The war was never the Republic against the Separatists. It was Palpatine against the Jedi. We lost. The rest of it was play-acting."

"It was real enough for everyone who _died_!"

"Yes." Obi-Wan's voice became harsh. "Including the children at the Temple."

"What?"

"They were _murdered_, Padmé. I saw it." He turned her back to face him. "They were murdered by _Anakin_."

"It's a _lie_—" Again, she pushed away from him. "He could _never_...he could never...not my Anakin..."

"He must be found."

She was quiet. "You've decided to kill him."

Obi-Wan said gravely, "He has become a very great threat."

At this, Padmé's medical condition finally overcame her; her knees buckled, and Obi-Wan was forced to catch her and help her onto the sofa.

"Anakin is the father, isn't he?"

Padmé looked away, tears forming.

"Padmé..."

"Go away, Obi-Wan. I can't help you."

"You can." He looked at her.

She did not look at him. "I won't."

An edge crept into Obi-Wan's voice. "You _will_."

Somehow knowing what she would see, Padmé turned back to look at Obi-Wan. She noted two things she hadn't before—two things that made him seem eerily familiar:

1.) His garb

2) His eyes

His garb was dark, and his eyes were hard, foreboding.

He looked disturbingly like Anakin had the previous day.

"No. I just can't." Her head bowed as the tears began to flow. Obi-Wan stood.

"Perhaps _you_ won't." He called out, "C-3PO."

"Yes, sir?" The golden droid came forward.

"Do you know where Anakin is?" Sensing the droid's hesitation, he added, "Bear in mind that it is in your base programming that you cannot lie, and therefore any other programming cannot over-ride it."

The droid, if he were human, would have sighed. "Sir, Master Anakin departed yesterday for Mustafar."

"Thank you, 3PO." He turned to the Senator, and bowed. "Good-bye, m'lady."

As he began to leave, the Senator stood, calling to Obi-Wan, "What are you going to do?"

He did not pause. As he strode forward, he said darkly, "What I must."

* * *

A comlink chimed.

Yoda opened his eyes in the darkness.

"Yes, Master Kenobi?"

_"I'm landing now. Are you in position?"_

"I am."

A moment of silence.

"Master Kenobi, take care, you must. To be underestimated, Vader is not."

_"Yes, Master. May the Force be with you."_

"It is. And may the Force be strong with you, young Obi-Wan."

The transmission ended.

* * *

The Jedi Interceptor shot into the horrid atmosphere of Mustafar. Inside the cockpit, the pilot thought, _this place looks like every man's private idea of Hell. Fitting._

The starfighter shot down to the landing deck.

* * *

On the deck, a man stands. He is garbed in black. There is a lightsaber at his belt. He was once called Anakin Skywalker, but that is not his name anymore.

He looks up into the sky of white-hot lava, smoke and cinders. A ship is descending. He knows this ship.

Feral joy burns in his eyes, and he is no longer entirely human. But then, he hasn't been for some time.

He stands there as the ship lands, and the cockpit opens. He has no fear.

He is Darth Vader, and he _is_ fear.

* * *

On the deck, a man climbs out of a starfighter. He is garbed in black. There is a lightsaber at his belt. He was once called Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he doesn't know if he truly is that man any more.

He looks across the deck into eyes that reflect the sky of white-hot lava, smoke and cinders. He knows those eyes.

He reaches into the Force, and senses the horrid corpses inside; The Separatist leaders that the other man murdered.

Remorse does not come to him. Neither does regret. Hatred enters his emotions, and he becomes as inhuman as the man before him. He has no pain.

He is not Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he will _cause_ pain.

* * *

"I'll give you a chance, Obi-Wan. For old times' sake. Walk away."

"Not a chance."

"If you are not with me, then you are my enemy."

"Should I be with you? You killed all those Jedi. You killed _younglings_."

"But who told me to do so? Who bewitched me, who seduced me to the Dark Side? So who's fault is it _really_ that that happened?"

* * *

"It was Yoda," he said as he swung out of the pod. "Another assassination attempt. Find him and kill him. If you have to, blow up the building."

Sidious did not have time to conduct the search imself. He sensed great danger in the Force.

* * *

Two men entered the Emperor's office. The Emperor's chair turned to face the first, as that was all he could see or sense.

"Ah, Lord Vader. I take it the Separatist leaders have been destroyed, then." He paused. "I must say, you're here sooner than expected."

"Just one of your many shortcomings, Master." As the second figure came into view, Sidious stiffened.

Obi-Wan Kenobi stood by Vader, igniting his blue blade, and said, "Your inability to read the future."

* * *

As Sidious crumpled from the two blades of azure lancing through him, Vader looked at his other former Master. "Do you feel the power in this, Obi-Wan?"

"It's unlike anything I had ever imagined," the older man said.

"Come. Kneel before me, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Obi-Wan dropped to one knee. He lowered his head.

"Is it your will to join your destiny forever with the Order of the Sith Lords?"

There was no hesitation. "Yes."

Darth Vader placed a mechanical hand on Obi-Wan's brow. "Then it is done. You are now one with the Order of the Dark Lords of the Sith. From this day forward, the truth of you, my friend, now and forevermore, will be Darth..."

A pause; a questioning in the Force—

An answer, dark as the gap between galaxies—

He heard Vader say it; his new name.

Vanadius.

A quartet of syllables that meant him.

_Vanadius_, he said to himself. _Vanadius_.

"Lord Vanadius?"

"Yes, Lord Vader?"

A deep, gravelly voice came that was not his. "Rise."

* * *

A/N: So? How 'bout that? Sith Lord Kenobi? Tell me what ya think! 


	12. Episode IV: Lost Hope

Episode IV: Lost Hope

* * *

Corpses littered the ground around them. Dead Jawas formed a gruesome trail to their Sandcrawler, which had been almost totally destroyed. Two men and two droids surveyed the scene.

Luke Skywalker said, "It _looks_ like the Sand People did this; gaffi sticks, bantha tracks, but..."

* * *

Here a small bit of the Dark Side intercedes. It unlocks some of Anakin's dormant genes in Luke; the tactician. It unlocks the knowledge in the back of Luke's skull that knows the methods of the Sand People...

And the methods of stormtroopers.

This seems like a minor action now, but it changes the future drastically.

* * *

"They'd never hit anything this big." Obi-Wan Kenobi watched as Luke paced the scene. "These tracks are side-by-side; no Tusken would do that, they're too secretive about their numbers." And he stared at the scoring on the treads of the Sandcrawler. "And none of the Sand People have blasters. This is Imperial handiwork."

Obi-Wan merely nodded, impressed. The boy seemed very mature very quickly.

"And these Jawas sold us R2 and 3-PO. So if they followed the Jawas' trail, they'd know whom the droids were sold to, and that'd lead them..." _Oh, no_. "Home!"

With a sudden burst of energy, Luke leapt the twenty-five feet to his speeder in one go. Even as Obi-Wan called, "It's too dangerous," part of him noted, _His powers are unlocking incredibly fast.

* * *

_

With a speed that would terrify all but the most experienced Podracers, Luke shot across the desert in his speeder, toying with the controls and unconsciously boosting its energies with the Force, shattering all the factory standards on maximum speed the thing had. As he neared home, he saw light flashing across the sand. Lights that he knew were blaster shots. Part of him seethed. _If they've hurt them, I swear..._he unconsciously stroked the lightsaber clipped at his belt.

Then he saw them. A clustering of white uniforms, a burning building...

And two bodies crumpled on the ground.

White-hot rage overcame the farm boy. With a scream that he'd heard Ben make only earlier that day—the scream of a Krayt dragon—he charged the stormtrooper patrol. Mere moments before he would hit them, he jerked the thrusters into reverse, bringing the speeder to a halt.

And his inertia, fueled by a furious leap powered by the Force, propelled him into their midst. Lightsaber in his hand and ignited, he'd severed the head of one trooper before he'd even touched the ground. As he rose from his crouch on the ground, the other seven troopers fired on him.

The Force flowing through him, he parried all of the shots, and moved towards the closest one. It panicked, firing madly at him. He parried the shots, then swung upwards, splitting the hapless trooper from left hip to right shoulder. Moving on before that trooper even hit the ground, he parried three shots, and then parried low, and in a sweeping clockwise motion, cut off a third at the knees and neck.

The fourth began to panic terribly, dropping its rifle in fear. Along with its hands, legs, and the top of its skull, all removed from its possession by the furious Skywalker. The remaining four tossed down their weapons and raised their arms. With two of them closer to him, and a cruel thought, _You are not surviving this day_, he whipped a backhanded swing through their chests, lancing through lungs and hearts in one split-second move. The last two, foolishly, ran.

The first heard a whooshing sound behind him, followed by a weight on his back, and a searing-hot pain through his spine. Skywalker had leapt the thirty feet they'd gotten, onto the unfortunate trooper's back, and rammed his blade down its spine.

The last froze. The lightsaber went to a guarded position at his side, as his left arm rose. Without even knowing what he was doing, five white-hot bolts of energy shot from his fingertips, and into the trooper, torturing him for the five seconds of life he had left.

As the lightsaber extinguished, Luke ran to the bodies at the door of the homestead. Even as he checked for a pulse, he knew they were dead. Then, a spark of realization went through his brain. He rose, and looked at the carnage of eight Imperials littering the ground. _What in...Did I...Did_ **_I_ **_just do that?_

As the memories caught up to him, he watched them detachedly, noting that he'd been fast, brutal, and _angry_. He'd used techniques he couldn't possibly know, and _where had the LIGHTNING come from?!_

Then he saw it; a strange, blue-white figure standing a few feet away. It was male, standing tall at almost two meters, with a black tunic and dark brown, almost black cape attached to his torso by a small chain. He was old, with a white beard and tired eyes. Eyes, he noted that burned with power. He wore a lightsaber at his belt. And he was applauding.

"Bravo, my boy, bravo."

"Who are you? _What_ are you?"

"To answer your question in reverse, my boy, I am a Force specter. I was a Sith Lord. My names are Tyranus, Lord of the Sith, and Dooku, Count of Serenno. I guided your hand and helped you with the Lightning."

"But...why?"

"Why?" The specter began to pace. "Because I knew you required my help. And I require yours."

"My help?"

"Yes. You see, the rule of the Sith is that there must only be two. And I was the expendable one. My Master, whom you know as Emperor Palpatine, decided that a boy who he knew would be better suited as an apprentice. He had the boy kill me, and I wish revenge."

"And why should I help you? You're a Sith Lord!" Luke had heard the stories of the Sith, quietly whispered in the cantinas. They were heartless, vicious monsters who killed without pity, mercy, remorse, or end.

"Yes. But Sith is a title, like Jedi, or Admiral, or Governor. I could say that you should help me because I helped you. But that is no reason, especially when I have a better one." The Count regarded him slowly. "The man who murdered me—who murdered your father as well—is named Darth Vader. He is a Lord of the Sith, and as I well know, it takes a Sith Lord to defeat a Sith Lord."

"Go on," Luke told the former Sith.

"I can teach you how to move, how to think, how to use the Force as it should be used, but you will need to do as I say. I can give you power, but far more importantly, I can give you closure, and I imagine that is far more valuable to you than anything else."

Luke thought for a time, staring at the sand beneath his feet. Then he rose his head, and asked, "What must I do?"

* * *

The speeder returned to the destroyed Sandcrawler. A man dressed in a dark cloak approached the three figures surrounding the fire. For a moment, Obi-Wan saw flashes of Anakin in the boy before him; tortured eyes and a weary posture. The cloak didn't help matters. But Luke needed him now, so he put it out of his mind. "There is nothing you could have done, Luke. You'd have been killed, too. And the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire."

The man—for he could not be a boy, not anymore—met his eyes and said, "I'm coming with you to Alderaan. There is nothing here for me but death. I feel the Force, but I wish to be able to control it. Will you help me?"

"Yes, Luke. Come." The four moved to the speeder for a trip across the sands to Mos Eisley.

* * *

On the _Millennium Falcon_, Luke stood with his lightsaber at the ready. The remote moved around in the air, randomly firing at him. He was to parry as many shots as he could.

He had yet to miss a single one.

Obi-Wan continued to be impressed by the junior Skywalker's skills in the Force and saber. He seemed to be incredibly adept at blocking the bolts. Particularly at deflecting them into the surrounding environment; specific points on the wall forming a pattern, into Han Solo's rear when he made a disparaging remark about 'hokey religions and ancient weapons', for examples.

He rose. "Well, Luke, you seem to have such a good handle on this that I am willing to try and teach you some dueling."

"All right." Luke rose his blade to a ready position as Ben ignited his own. It has been some time, old friend. "Ready?" Luke nodded. "Begin."

* * *

Ben moved slowly initially, as did Luke. As Ben sank deeper into Form III, Luke began to mirror him perfectly. In his ear, he heard Dooku. _Not even had this toy for three days, and already mirroring a Form III Master? Oh, the Jedi would have _loved_ you, my boy! Now, I suggest trying this...

* * *

_

As Ben moved into Form III, he began to notice some of Luke's attacks were coming perilously close to getting past his defense. He wondered what this form was that Luke as using; it was graceful yet powerful, with precise swings and never over-calculated at all. Then it hit him; Luke was unconsciously using Form II. He'd only seen Dooku use that Form, and Luke was almost as good as _he_ had been. _Incredible!

* * *

_

On board the Death Star, Luke followed Han Solo with Chewbacca deep into the ship, moving towards the detention block AA23. Inside the turbolift, Han said darkly, "This is _not_ gonna work."

"Oh, stop it. It _will_ work. Now stand up straight; a _proper_ stormtrooper doesn't slouch like that."

"Oh, sure, but an _officer_ does?" Even through the helmet, Luke could feel Han's glare. "_I_ was an officer in the Navy, so how come _you_ get to be the one here?"

"Simple; you _were_," Luke said smarmily. "You must have gotten thrown out for some reason. Now shut up, trooper; we're here."

As the door opened, the two stepped forward into the room. The officer in charge steeped forward. "Where are you taking this...thing?" The officer sneered at the Wookiee.

"Prisoner transfer from Cell Block 1138," Luke answered without hesitation.

"I wasn't notified," the officer said uncertainly. "I'll have to clear it."

"I don't think you really need to," Luke said in a voice that was incredibly commanding and intimidating at the same time. Han noted that, thinking, _Damn, with a tone of voice like that, he could talk his way through a black hole. He'd make one hell of a smuggler._

"No, I really don't need to, do I? No-one would be insane enough to move a Wookiee without orders. We'll take him from here."

"No, I don't think you will." Before Han got Chewie's binders loose, they were all dead, save for the officer. Han blinked as Luke lowered his raised hand; all the troopers and electronics were smoking from the electricity that had poured from Luke's hand.

Now Luke strode towards the officer, who tumbled over a body, and crawled backward into a corner in fear. The lightsaber was ignited in an instant, and at the man's throat. "Now if you would kindly tell me where the princess is, we'll be on our way."

The man gulped. "Very well. This way." As Luke backed off to allow him to rise, he slowly raised his arms and began to march down the detention block hall. As he did, Han took off his helmet and cocked his head at Luke. "_That_ wasn't in the plan," he gestured to indicate the still smoking corpses littering the room.

"It worked, didn't it?" Smiling, Luke followed the officer, lightsaber inches from the man's back.

* * *

Leia slept in her cell. As she did, she dreamt of Alderaan, of Father, of the world and friends and family he'd never see again. Then, almost thankfully, she awoke to the sounds of tramping boots outside. The door chimed open as she sat up.

She began to stand, but paused, and frowned. The officer just stood there. Then, she saw a hand holding a silvery cylinder rise and then come down hard on the man's skull. He tumbled into the room. Then, she looked into the doorway. There stood another officer. But something was different about him—he couldn't be an officer from the Death Star. His stance was very sure, very combat-ready, and his hair was too long for an officer. The lightsaber also dispelled the notion. As he extinguished it, he smiled, and offered his hand to the princess. "Princess Organa, I'm Luke Skywalker; I'm here to rescue you." At a loud noise behind him that sounded suspiciously like a clearing throat, Luke jerked his head to indicate the other man, a helmet-less stormtrooper. "So's he."

"Thank you." She took his hand and stood, taking the proffered blaster from Solo. "I assume you have a plan for getting out."

"As a matter of fact, yes." The ersatz stormtrooper said. "I'm Han, by the way. Han Solo." He turned to the door. "Chewie!"

A Wookiee appeared in the door, dumping a stormtrooper suit in the door. Leia cast one look at it, then looked at her rescuers.

Smirking, Han said, "We'll turn around if you'd like." He, the Wookiee, and Skywalker all turned and looked away.

As she removed her encumbering royal attire and took on the equally restrictive armor, she thought about Solo: _Oooh, I don't like him_.

* * *

As the two stormtroopers and the officer escorted the Wookiee prisoner down the halls to the _Falcon_, Ben Kenobi encountered Darth Vader.

"At last we meet again. When I left you, I was but a learner. Now _I_ am the master."

* * *

As the stormtroopers guarding the _Falcon_ moved to watch the duel, the ersatz Imperials and prisoner ran to the ship. All save Skywalker, who watched Ben fight Vader.

_Vader_, Tyranus whispered in his ear, almost talking to himself. _It has been some time._

As Vader and Ben fought, he heard Ben in his head as well; _run, Luke, run!_

Then he fell to Vader's blade.

"NO!" As the troopers turned to fire on him, he leapt over their heads, and into a fierce duel with Vader.

As Tyranus guided his hands, Luke sank deep into Form II, propelling old, tired, unpracticed Vader back farther and farther.

* * *

In the _Falcon_ cockpit, as Han crashed into the pilot's chair, Leia screamed, "Aren't you going to help him?!"

"What d'you think I'm doing?!" He flicked a switch. As another switch flashed on the board, he angrily punched it.

The anti-personnel blaster dropped. As did several stormies.

* * *

Vader was astounded; this boy was beating him. This raw Jedi—obviously Kenobi's apprentice—was delving deeply into Form II, driving back his own unpracticed Form V. Where had he seen this—

Dooku.

He sensed him surrounding the boy.

"There something you plan to say to me before you kill me, Dooku?"

The specter appeared in the hall. "You recognized me. How lovely. Luke here has something to say to you."

As he turned to look at the man, he felt a jolt. His hand and saber thudded to the ground. The blue lightsaber levelled at his neck. "Hello. My name is Luke Skywalker." Recognition dawned; it was _his_ saber. "You killed my father. Prepare to die." Then his other arm went.

"Offer me money." Off came a leg.

"Luke—" The other.

"Power, too—promise me that." His breathing filter was scorched.

"Luke, please—"

"Promise me whatever I want." The saber levelled once more.

"Anything, Luke, listen to me—!"

A shot of pain through his gut.

"I want my father back, you filthy monster."

A wry chuckle. "Luke..._I _am..." And he died.

_Finally. It is done. I thank you, young Skywalker. And now I must say goodbye. You have my skills, my knowledge. Use them wisely. The Force will be with you. _And Dooku, Count of Serenno, Dark Lord of the Sith, passed into the oblivion of the Force.

* * *

The _Falcon_ escapes. No homing beacon is on board. A man who is not Jedi or Sith mans the turrets with the smuggler as they destroy four TIE fighters and escape to Yavin. The man enlists in Red Squadron, and becomes a great pilot as the smuggler serves alongside him. In an act of partnership, the two single-handedly destroy Palpatine's Death Star. The man never learns what happened to his father.

The rest, as they say, is history.

* * *

A/N: I'm BAAAAAAAAACK! What'd y'all think of the "Princes Bride" references? Read and review!!!


	13. Episode V: Striking the Empire

Episode V: Striking the Empire

* * *

"What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to _me_," Fett argued.

As Han and Leia looked at each other, Vader intoned in his bass voice, "The Empire will compensate you if he dies." He gestured with a gloved hand. "Put him in."

When stormtroopers moved to place him in, however, Chewbacca lost self-control and, roaring angrily, broke free of his restraints, knocking several troopers aside, shoving one off the platform entirely. As Fett raised his weapon to fire, Vader grasped the barrel and wrenched it back down.

"Chewie, stop! Hey!" Han yelled at the Wookiee as binders were replaced. "Chewie, this won't help me! Hey!" He finally got through. "There'll be another time." Sparing a glance at Leia, he said, "The Princess. _You _have to take care of her." As the woman moved towards them, he asked, "you hear me, eh?"

Obviously unhappy, the Wookiee grumbled assent.

* * *

Unseen to all but the Force, as the Ugnaughts prepare the chamber, one changes the temperature control for the carbonite, shifting it just the slightest bit to compensate for his core body temperature. It is only by the slightest bit.

But it is enough to change the course of the galaxy.

* * *

For what would probably be the last time, Han Solo and Leia Organa gazed into each other's eyes. Then, they embraced, kissing deeply, longingly, regretfully. Vader, some small base emotions left within him, allowed it for a time, then gestured to his soldiers, who pulled them apart.

As Han stepped onto the platform, Leia cried out, "I love you."

And Han Solo said sadly, "I know."

As the Ugnaughts undid his binders, he looked down at them, unable to meet Leia's loving gaze. Then, as the platform descended into his private sector of Hell, he looked up.

* * *

This is what it is to be Han Solo, for the last time:

You look about you as the platform you are on moves into a smoky, orange-red glowing haze. Rather like the gates of Hell, you muse wanly.

Then you look up for what you know will almost definitely be the last time, and see the faces of those you loved and hated.

You see your old buddy Lando, his eyes filled with regret and pain as he sadly meets your gaze. No gesture is made to him, but in returning his gaze, he gets the message: _I forgive you_.

You see Boba Fett, the Mandalorian that has hunted you for so long. His chase is finally over, his bounty captured. You let go of the dislike for the armored man, knowing it will do you no good in your last moments.

You see Chewbacca, loyal friend and partner, roar in agony as the one he swore to protect with his life slips into a hellish mist to meet his likely death. You know he will never hear these words, but you think them to him anyway; _take care of Leia for me. Be a good fuzzball and mess up a wire or two when you get Goldenrod back together._

You see Vader, his expressionless mask watching you with what you just know to be perverse interest, as though you are a mere experiment. And for his purposes, that is all you are.

Last of all, you see Leia, her eyes wet as tears stream down her porcelain face, leaving trails of sadness down her soft cheeks that trail out of sight to the floor. You see the pain of lost love in her eyes as she watches you go to your death. And in that one moment, you hate Vader for all its worth. For causing such a beautiful girl such agony, for taking away your friend's city, for taking away Chewbacca's right to die for you, and for taking away your chance to discover what might have been between you and the Princess. _A Princess, and a guy like me..._

_Goodbye, Leia._

_Goodbye, my love._

Then there is a flash of mist.

And then a flash of purest agony.

And then, merciful blackness.

This is what it is to be Han Solo.

This is his death.

* * *

As the chunk of carbonite rose in the claw's grasp, Leia thought that she could feel no more pain. But when she saw the agony on Han's frozen face, she was proven wrong. The Ugnaughts unceremoniously pushed him over, to slam into the floor. As she clung to Chewbacca for dear life, she thought bitterly at the little creatures, _Couldn't you show him the slightest respect?_

Lando slowly strode over to the side of the block, examining the bars and lights detailing the conditions of the carbonite...and its contents.

He was silent for the longest time, it seemed.

"Well, Calrissian, did he survive?" Vader queried the Administrator.

When Lando responded, he looked not at Vader, but at Leia, his eyes saying, _I'm so sorry_. "No, he did not."

In that one moment, Leia realized she'd never see Han again; never hear his sarcastic voice again, never see that smug grin that said he knew something somebody else didn't, never hear him curse the _Falcon_'s low ceilings for all their worth, never again...

And in that one moment, Leia knew who had taken her loved one away.

* * *

This is what it is to be Leia Organa, right now:

Pure.

Unadulterated.

_Rage.

* * *

_

All self-control vanished from her power as an inhuman scream pierced the air. She'd later reflect and wonder if it was her or the men around her that made the noise.

She'd ultimately resolve that she didn't care.

As she lost control, her arms unconsciously rose into the air and hot white lightning shot from her fingertips as her anger fueled her rage and misery, cascading the Imperials, the Ugnaughts, Fett, Vader—all of them with merciless Force Lightning.

The Ugnaughts died first; their minute frames could not take the electrical overload.

The Imperials fell next, their spotless white armor useless as the hot bolts of hatred shot around the suits, under them, _through_ them, and cooking their insides as the pain drove them out of their minds.

Fett lasted longer than the others. His armor held the lightning at bay for a while. But it was only armor, and _nothing_ and _no-one_ would withstand the fury of the bolts of power. Not even the galaxy's finest bounty hunter. He did not scream; his clone mental conditioning did not allow for it. Nor, once the lightning got past his armor, did he have time to. At that point, two individuals suffered the full power of the Force Storm. Fett simply could not survive it. He crumpled to the ground, a smoking pile of scorched fabric and melted durasteel.

With all others dead, the unbridled fury of the Force was unleashed on Vader.

Vader was the only one to survive at all. His lightsaber caught the brunt of it, but towards the end, when the lightning focused solely on him, it overloaded his red blade, causing it to short out and die.

It took all his Force-induced conditioning to live.

But it was enough.

He strode forward slowly, purposefully, and struck his attacker in the head with the pommel of his blade.

The storm abruptly stopped as its source, Leia Organa, fell to the ground.

Weak, Vader noted that the Wookiee and Calrissian were unharmed, whilst almost everything else was completely destroyed.

As more stormtroopers ran in, reinforcing him, wondering what in the name of Palpatine had happened here, Vader mused, _Perhaps I have found something...else_. The sheer power it took to conjure Force Lightning was incredible, and to maintain it at _that_ intensity for _that_ long was unheard of.

He realized abruptly; _Organa has more power than anyone in her rage_. A plan began to formulate in his helmeted head.

Finally, he ordered the men, "Take the Princess to my ship."

Calrissian found his voice. "But you said she'd remain in the city under my supervision."

"I am altering the deal," Vader said succinctly. "_Pray_ I don't alter it any further."

As he strode away from the man and Wookiee, he thought, _forget Skywalker. No child of mine can be _this_ powerful_.

* * *

Luke entered the carbonite chamber, his Force sense telling him that this was the place to go, yet his human intuition told him something was terribly wrong.

As did his eyes.

The place was a smoldering cave, sparks occasionally flying from destroyed panels, and melted suits of stormtroopers were everywhere, and at the center of the carnage was a rectangular box. _No..._even as he denied it, he knew. Even as he looked at the tortured face encased in carbonite forever, he knew.

But he still had to see Han's face before he'd accept it.

He looked up, seeing Chewie, standing with Threepio on his back—_in pieces?_—next to a dark-skinned man, who extended his hand. "You must be Luke Skywalker. I'm Lando Calrissian. I'm sorry about Han, but we need to leave. _Now_." Sensing Luke's indecision, "We'll bring him with us, see if there's a chance of reviving him, but we have to go."

"Where's Leia?" He finally came to his senses.

"Vader took her with him; they're already gone. Come on," he pulled at Luke's shoulder. "Help me with him."

* * *

As the _Millennium Falcon_ fled Bespin and shot off towards Dagobah, the Super Star Destroyer _Executor_ moved through hyperspace towards a place called Vjun.

* * *

As he stood in the _Falcon_, Yoda observed the face of the man before him. It was not the face of the boy who had dashed off to save his friends a few days prior. It was the face of a man who had lost almost everything.

"I couldn't save them."

Yoda understood, gesturing for the boy to sit.

When both were comfortable, Ben Kenobi appeared. "What happened, Luke?"

"Vader froze Han in carbonite, to see if a human could survive the process. He planned on freezing me, and then shipping me off to the Emperor." Luke stalled, unsure of how to say the rest.

"And?" Ben pressed.

"It didn't work. It killed him."

Yoda's ears drooped as he bowed his head, and Ben shook his head. "A waste of a good man."

"What of the other, young Skywalker? Your Leia, what of her?" Yoda asked, fearful of the response.

"Vader took her." For the first time in centuries, unmasked fear came across Yoda's features. "Maybe my companion can explain why."

Lando, over the shock of seeing a Force ghost and a 900-year-old Jedi Master, elaborated. "After they froze Han, they had me check if he survived. When I said that he didn't, Leia...she just lost it. She shot this look of pure hate at Vader. Then she raised her arms, and this...this..._lightning_ shot out of her hands."

Neither Luke nor Lando saw the look Ben and Yoda exchanged. "She fried everything and everyone except Han's carbonite block, Chewie, me, and Vader—the last not by choice. Towards the end, she was pouring her all into him, but he beat through, hit her on the head, and took her with him. I...I don't know where they went," Lando finished ashamedly.

"Hmm." Yoda sighed. "Perhaps it is time we explained a few things."

* * *

LATER...

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Lando said. "First off, Luke and Leia are twins," he ticked the items off on his fingers. "Second, they're both Force-sensitive. Third, they're _Anakin Skywalker's_ _children_?! And lastly, Anakin Skywalker is DARTH VADER?!"

"The last is not really true," Ben said. "Vader, I suppose, was an emergent personality that overtook Anakin at the end of the Clone Wars. When that happened, the good man who was Anakin was destroyed. I tried to bring him back, but Vader destroyed him so completely and utterly that I hold no hope for him anymore. You see what I was trying to say, Luke, when I said Vader killed your father?"

Luke nodded. "I understand." His head rose to gaze at the old Force spectre. "What will happen to Leia now?"

Ben's blue-white face darkened even further. "I have little doubt in that matter. Vader will begin to train her in the Dark Side of the Force. From what you have described, it is the only side she has ever known, and with her power, I believe that when Vader is ready, he and Leia will overthrow the Emperor."

Luke looked to Yoda. "What can we do?"

Yoda, if anything, was even more somber than Ben. "Very little, there is. Train you further, we can. Assist the Rebellion, we can. But fear, I do, that stop Vader's work on Leia, we can not."

* * *

TIME GOES BY...

* * *

The Rebellion, waiting on the edge of the galaxy for the _Falcon_ and Leia and Han to return, was saddened by the news of Han's death and Leia's capture.

Lando Calrissian, understanding their need, and with nothing left to lose, took over many of Leia Organa's duties and roles, inspiring the men and women under him as a former war hero and charismatic figure.

Jedi Master Yoda returned to the Rebellion with Luke Skywalker. The Apprentice learned quickly from the Master, and delved deep into the Light Side of the Force as he became a Master in his own right.

Darth Vader kept Leia's existence a secret from the Emperor, training her in his Bast Castle on Vjun. Surrounded by the Dark Side's influence, and guaranteed by Vader that once the Emperor was overthrown that he would return the galaxy's civil liberties, she joined him, quickly becoming powerful and deadly.

After a long time, preparations were nearly complete...

* * *

THREE YEARS AFTER...

* * *

In the belly of the _Millennium Falcon_, a man sat. Or, more appropriately, was in a cross-legged position half a meter off the floor. Garbed almost entirely in black, he meditated in mid-air as several items moved in circles around him, including some food dishes, some food itself, a very disgruntled droid, and two extinguished lightsabers, all at varying orbits and speeds.

"Shown off enough, you have," Yoda chided.

Luke Skywalker opened his eyes, and smiling softly, set down the items, Artoo with an indignant squawk, the sabers returning to his belt. One was his father's, the other one modeled after the Praetorian saber handles he'd found in Yoda's old books.

He extended his legs and his feet met the decking, and only looked at Yoda, saying nothing. His Master and friend sighed, "Look much like your father did, do you."

Luke instinctively looked down at the black and dark brown robes of a Jedi before returning his gaze to Yoda. "Coming, the time to act is. Be strong, you must. Be mindful, you must."

"Master Yoda, what do you believe will happen?" Luke asked his elderly friend.

"See the future, I cannot. Clouded too heavily, it is," Yoda frowned.

"Forgive me," Luke began slowly, "but that is not what I asked; I know only too well that the future is too clouded to see. I asked what you _think_ may happen."

"Hmm," the green Jedi pondered. "Many possibilities, there are. Face the Emperor, we could; Vader and his apprentice may not act before we do."

"Is that our worst-case scenario?" As Luke asked, the tactician mindset returned to Yoda, long dormant since the Clone Wars.

"No; not our best-case scenario, is it either." Frowning, he continued. "For the Emperor to defeat Vader and Organa, but weakened severely be, that, our best-case scenario is; too tired and out-of practice, he would be, to stop the two of us." Yoda sighed. "But fear, I do, that happen, this will not."

"And our worst-case scenario?" Luke asked apprehensively.

"Face all three," Yoda said succinctly.

"That I find unlikely, for many reasons," Luke explained. "The Emperor would not allow such a threat to his rule survive, even if it were in the functionality of an ally; he knows personally how easily and quickly allies can turn on one another." Yoda knew this firsthand; he had seen the bodies of Jedi in the Jedi Temple, and nearly been killed by Palpatine's soldiers himself. Continuing, Luke said, "And I highly doubt that Vader would allow Palpatine to live, likely for the same reasons."

"Hmm. So, worst-case is..." Yoda left off.

"Also the likely scenario," Luke finished dourly. "Facing Vader and Leia."

"Then, prepare for _that_, we must."

"I'll take Vader," Luke said.

"No," Yoda intoned softly. "Strong enough to face Vader as he is now, you might never be. Die you would, and painfully."

Though he expected little sympathy in either state, "Yoda, do not ask me to kill my own sister. Do _not_," Luke half-pleaded, half-commanded.

Yoda was as sympathetic as the root of a wroshyr tree.

"The Leia Organa you knew, gone she is—twisted by the Dark Side. Consumed by Vader's teachings. Out of this misery, you must put her. To visit our second Emperor, _my_ job will be."

Luke studied his green comrade. _What does he have up his sleeve?_

"Together, lose we might. But apart, a chance we have." Rising, the old Master said, "Coming, my time is. Like to see this Empire fall before I die, I would." He nodded to Luke. "Prepare, we must."

"How do we get them apart? How do we get one away from the other?"

Yoda just smiled.

* * *

"You summoned me, Vader?" Organa spoke as she entered the Dark Lord's chambers.

"Our time has come. I will move against the Emperor tonight," Vader said, staring out into the toxic Vjun rain, not looking at his apprentice.

"Shouldn't both of us move against him at the same time?" Organa did not understand his tactics.

"Feel in the Force," Vader commanded. She did so. "There is a Jedi on Bespin. A powerful Jedi. Skywalker, I believe."

She opened her eyes. _Luke...?_ She shoved that part of her down. It had no bearing on the galaxy, not anymore.

"That will be your trial. Defeat Skywalker, and return to Coruscant. If I have failed to defeat the Emperor, the title of Dark Lord will be passed onto you. If you do not kill him yourself," Vader mused.

"You actually believe that _I_ could kill him?" Organa asked skeptically.

Vader now turned to her, nodding. "Your skills with the lightsaber are simply unparalleled. Your command of the Dark Side is perhaps equal to the Emperor's by now, and he is old, frail. _Weak_," he spat the word. "If I were to fail, you would have little difficulty in taking the throne yourself." He returned his gaze to the window. "Go to Bespin. Destroy Skywalker. Return to me."

She bowed. "Yes, m'lord."

* * *

Bespin was exactly as he remembered it; echoing, empty halls, pristine white walls, all of it. The only obvious change was the decoration of the Imperial banner every twenty feet or so on the wall.

He strode through these halls, black cloak billowing behind him. The hood hid his features from any who would look. Those who would look would see that of perhaps a Dark Jedi...or worse, a Sith. The city residents would give him no trouble.

He chimed his comlink.

Half a galaxy away, another answered. _"Yes, Jedi Skywalker?"_

"I'm in the city now. Are you in position?"

_"I am."_

A moment of silence.

"Master Yoda...if we don't see each other again—"

_"Think not of after, Luke. Always now, even eternity will be."_

Another moment of silence.

Longer.

"May the Force be with you."

_"It is. And may the Force be with you, young Skywalker."_

He ended the transmission, and moved, following the guidance of the Force. He sensed a dark cloud somewhere ahead, as though a storm were gathering a small distance away. Warily, he approached this storm.

Luke entered the familiar carbonite chamber. The echoes of the Dark Side drew him to it, as though...

Frowning, he reached into the Force.

The glowing orange lights came on as he sensed a presence behind him. A harsh voice echoing as though it were from another time said, "The Force is with you, Skywalker..."

He turned to see a figure that was, like him, cloaked in night. "But you are not a Jedi yet."

_Vader...?_ It couldn't be; the figure was too small, the voice not mechanical...

And illumination crossed both his mind and, as the figure stepped forward only a little, his adversary's face.

Harsh lines, jagged scar from the right eye to hairline, and glowing yellow eyes aside, it was Leia Organa on the platform above him.

For the longest time, the two stood and took in the other. Both noted their almost identical garb of black robes and cloaks, and the pairs of lightsabers at both their belts.

So similar, yet so different.

No words were spoken. Leia was too hardened from years with Vader to taunt an opponent verbally; Luke knew the moment he saw her eyes that there was little chance of saving her.

A twitch of the Force brought his father's sapphire blade into existence, facing downward into the floor from Luke's hand.

A similar action brought a bar of plasma from Leia's hand, facing upward. It was the same color of blue.

A mirthless smile twitched momentarily across both mouths at the colors.

Then they saluted.

Then they began.

* * *

A gesture opened the grating of the vent shaft where he had waited in meditation, revealing the vast conic wall that was the Grand Convocation Chamber of the Galactic Senate. It was sometimes called the Senate Arena.

As it did a quarter of a century ago, today this nickname would be particularly apt.

Yoda stretched blood back into his green flesh.

This was his time.

Over nine hundred years of study and training, of teaching and of meditation, all now focused, and refined, and resolved into this single moment; the sole purpose of his vast span of existence had been to prepare him to enter the heart of night and bring his light against the darkness.

He adjusted the angle of his blade against his belt.

He draped his robe across his shoulders.

With reverence, with gratitude, without fear, and without anger, Yoda went forth to war.

* * *

Vader entered the Chancellor's holding office beneath the Senate Arena. He noted his master waiting for him in his throne. _At least I am spared the trouble of hunting him down._

"Ah, Lord Vader. I see you have come to join me. Do you sense it as well?" The Emperor elaborated, "The disturbance in the Force. We must be wary."

"Or perhaps," Vader said in his dark voice, "_you_ should be wary, Master." As he spoke, the four Royal Guardsmen smashed at breakneck speeds into the walls, and slumped dead.

As the red blade sprang into existence, "I _am_ a disturbance in the Force."

Palpatine sneered. "Fool. You are a machine. You cannot control the Dark Side the way I can. I am more powerful than you." As he spoke, he raised his arms. Lightning shot from them, arcing towards Vader.

His lightsaber blocked the hot sheets of power with ease. "No, I do not. So I work my way around it. And in that, Master—my ability to adapt—_I_ am more powerful than _you_."

"We shall see." Another red bar of plasma came into existence, and Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire lunged at Vader.

* * *

The identical blades of blue clashed repeatedly. Organa blocked Skywalker's attack, then, forcing his blade down, leapt over his head with a sweeping arc that would have decapitated a lesser opponent.

Skywalker was not a lesser opponent.

The moment Organa's feet left the floor, he was rolling forwards, under her blade. When they both were on their feet again, they were at opposite ends of the chamber.

Snarling, Organa leapt through the air towards her Jedi opponent.

Skywalker matched the move.

As they met, their blades clashed again and again. Luke feinted a stab at her head, then swung in a clockwise motion. Leia's blade hands swung from her right side to the side of her head, facing down, in a counterclockwise move that could block either assault.

Not wasting time or energy, the moment their blades met, Luke pulled back in a counterclockwise direction, moving his blade smoothly with hers to force her to spin her body, blade moving above her head. As the circle completed, he forced her then, blades still connected, moving clockwise. Their blades moved like a pendulum as she drove him backwards, first left, then right. Counterclockwise, then clockwise.

Counterclockwise.

Clockwise.

Then, unexpectedly, Luke leapt back, and Leia followed, leaping high, swinging her azure blade downwards. He moved his blade to his left hand, and, sweeping her blade aside, landed a Force-powered punch to her unprotected gut.

The power the Force put in that blow threw her back against the wall at the other side of the room. Shaken, but smirking, she said tauntingly, "And here I thought you don't hit women."

As she leapt from the wall towards him and, replicating his move, kicked him in the chest, shoving him into the other wall, he realized that her voice...put a chill in his bones. The sweet Leia he knew had no bearings on this...this _creature_ of the Dark Side.

So he would not allow himself to have an input in his Jedi assaults either. "I _don't_ hit women." As he spoke, He swung powerfully to the left, almost knocking her blade out of her hand. Then, stepping on his right foot, he lunged in, and brought the pommel of his father's saber to whack her sharply in the jaw. She let out a startled yell, falling off the side of the chamber platform. As he leapt down to follow, he added wryly, "But in your case, I'll make an exception."

* * *

Vader swung high against Sidious, then blocked an attack that would have cost him a leg. _For a tired old man_, Vader thought dryly as he leapt away from an attack that moved at his midsection, _he isn't tiring easily_. He blocked, then swung the blades up, locking them in a perfect 'X' as Sidious glared over the sabers at Vader.

Then the both of them were suddenly swept against the walls. _What...?_

And then illumination came as he looked at the door.

* * *

_Hmm. A problem this is._

Yoda had planned to face the Emperor once more. He had also planned to face Vader, though he didn't look forward with any particular glee to that.

He hadn't planned on facing the both of them.

He supposed that the fact that they were fighting each other meant that he wouldn't be facing a team, but that did not make it any easier to contemplate.

"Master Yoda..." Sidious cackled. "Oh, this is delicious. I thought you to be long dead." He turned to Vader. "Is this your alliance? Joining a 900-year old Jedi against me?" He cackled madly. Yoda and Vader exchanged a look that somehow transferred the sentiments that Palpatine was indeed mad, that they would show the other no quarter, but also said that if the other were to have a shot at killing Palpatine..._be my guest_.

Yoda released the Sith Lords, and ignited his green lightsaber. Unnoticed to the junior Sith Lord and Jedi Master, Sidious Force-flicked the switch that engaged the time delay of three seconds on the lift up to the Arena. Then he leapt to the pod.

The others followed.

* * *

Luke entered the dark room, spreading his senses to find Leia. He looked to his left, noting the transparisteel window that looked out into an abyss. Then, receiving a premonition, he looked, and ignited his blade.

As Leia came from the attached hall, her's ignited as well.

They met their blades.

Then moved.

Attacking down, blocking up, move to right, sidestep to the left, block, swing, parry, dodge, thrust.

After attacking towards the chest, Luke swung down clockwise to parry an attack, then moving counter-clockwise, made an attack of his own that was blocked. Then a moment of warning—

He leapt into the air as a storage container flew under him that, had he remained for a second more, would have crushed his back. As he landed, Leia was on him, swinging with the intensity of the Dark Side behind her. He knew that one saber would not hold her assault back.

She expected his second saber to come into play.

She did not expect her azure saber to be blocked by an 'X' of cerulean and crimson.

"A red blade for a Jedi?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises," Luke smiled mirthlessly.

_What—?_

And she took a step back and twisted, barely dodging a pipe whistling towards her head. Holding blood-red blade in left hand over right shoulder, and sky-blue in right hand over left shoulder, he swung his blades in a scissor fashion, a move that would have decapitated her but for two outside events.

The first was that she stepped out of range with her backward step from dodging the pipe.

The second was her counter move. She blocked his red blade with her blue blade, on the outside of his guard.

Her own red blade blocked his blue, on the inside of his guard only a second later.

In that second, his crimson blade whirled back, and joined his blue as he stepped back to regroup in a cross 'X' perpendicular to his waist.

She regrouped herself, left-handed red blade jutting forward, right-handed sapphire blade beside her head, arm forming a right angle as the blade pointed at an angle downward.

The two looked at each other, each sizing the other up.

_This is going to be a lot more difficult than I anticipated._

Then they returned, red blades sparking against blue, the colors meeting as tensions between the blades and duelists grew. Neither expected their opponent to be this skilled, or last this long.

Skywalker, trained as a Jedi, looked for a fair way to defeat his sister and old friend without killing her.

Organa, however, having been trained as a Sith, and becoming quickly enraged by not winning outright, had no such interests in keeping Luke alive, and unlike the Jedi, had no compunctions about cheating whatsoever.

Knocking his blades apart, she raised her right hand and shot angry bolts of lightning. He barely dodged the white energy. Organa paled suddenly. Her energy went straight past Skywalker—

And into the thin transparisteel window behind.

It shattered spectacularly.

Neither had time to think or grab hold of something before they were swept out the window by the speeding winds.

It was by sheer luck that Luke managed to grab hold of a catwalk several stories below. Looking down, he saw a black abyss beneath him. Driven by the motivation of intense terror, he pulled himself up, and caught his breath. Then, coming back to himself, he warily looked around.

Though he sensed she lived still, Organa was nowhere to be found.

* * *

The podium rose into the Senate Arena, two blades of red and one of green flashing everywhere. The moment the podium entered the chamber, a red blade started to move away as the green and second red engaged repeatedly, as they did twenty-five years previously.

It was when Yoda got an attack through Palpatine's guard that he leapt away.

And was nearly crushed by one of the pods that Vader controlled.

The three leapt and dodged one another's attacks as pod upon pod rained from the enormous room. Three pods very nearly killed Yoda as he leapt clear of Palpatine's assault, only to be almost blindsided from Vader's own two pods flying at him.

Vader leapt from pod to pod, as though he were twenty again, making his steady way to Palpatine. Yoda saw this, and being willing to swallow some pride in the matter, began to counter the pods Sidious flung at Vader with some of his own.

The old shadow leapt from his safe pod just in time to avoid Vader's blade.

And very nearly lost his life to the little green freak that leapt up from behind him.

The confusing three-way battle moved from pod to pod as Yoda attacked Palpatine, blocked a swing from Vader. Vader stabbed at Yoda, blocked Sidious's own stab. Palpatine cackled at the complexity of this engagement, enjoying this exercise. _Why not enjoy it_; a three-way was intensely rare to begin with.

Swing at one opponent, parry the other's attack.

Duck as the other two face each other, jab at one of their defenses.

Stars, he loved this kind of fight.

Then he threw a pod out of nowhere at the other two, sending them flying into the arena. Yoda was on his feet first.

Then Yoda began to flee upward as Palpatine and Vader momentarily forgot one another, and flung pods towards him.

Then, reaching the top of the Senate dome, he gazed down, seeing the two flinging pods the nearly kilometer distance. Smiling, he leapt down to meet them, island-hopping from one to the next, dodging some, leaping over others, slowly making his way down.

Unbeknownst to the Sith, Yoda then began to manipulate two pods, floating them up from the ever-growing pile at the base of the Arena.

* * *

There came a turning point in the clash of light against the dark.

It did not come from a flash of lightning or slash of energy blade, though those were in plenty; it did not come from a flying kick or a surgically precise punch, though these were traded, too.

It came as the battle shifted to a tossing match; it came as one opponent temporarily sided with him to crush the other; it came as the second opponent leapt from the ceiling; it came as the Force and the podium's controls ripped delegation pods free of the curving walls and made of them hammers, battering rams, catapult stones crashing and crushing against each other in a roaring thunder-roar that echoed the Senate's cheers for the galaxy's new Emperor a quarter-century before.

It came when the focus of night resolved into the lineage of the Sith; when the lineage of the Sith refined into one single Sith.

It came when Palpatine found himself alone in the dark.

In that lightning-speared tornado of feet and fists and blades and bashing machines, his vision finally pierced the darkness that Vader had clouded the Force with.

Finally, he saw the truth.

This truth: that he, the focus of night, Supreme Dark Lord of the Sith, the fiercest, most implacable, most devastatingly powerful foe the light had ever known...

just—

didn't—

_have_ it.

Not any more. He had lost this fight before he started.

The Jedi had changed. The Jedi had grown, had adapted, had invested a quarter century's intensive study into every aspect of not only the Force but Sith lore itself, in preparation for exactly this day. The Jedi had remade themselves.

They had become new.

While the Sith—

The Sith spent the last twenty-five years _gloating_.

It was of little surprise to him, then, when the end came.

It was such a sudden thing. He saw Vader out of the corner of his eye, doing exactly as he did; pitching pod upon pod at Yoda. Then, Vader leapt into the air as a pod very nearly crushed him.

Sidious leapt as well.

A half-second too late.

There was a sickening crunch as he felt his back give to the unrelenting durasteel.

Then absolute nothingness.

* * *

With the three down to two, the battle almost died out. Vader and Yoda were not young men, skilled though they were. Over nine hundred years weighted down Yoda's soul, and the years on Vader's back, though less in number, were harsher for it; his mechanical joints ached him now more than ever. They had barely the energy to swing an energy blade at each other any more.

In the end, they both didn't have it anymore, either.

Yoda simply dropped his saber and crawled to Vader, who was already on the floor. The lightning had cost him all four limbs, and most of his precious vitality.

"Is it finished?" Vader intoned.

"Finished, it is," Yoda nodded. "Also finished are _we_, Anakin," Yoda smiled without humor.

A deep chuckle came from deep within the helmet. "I haven't heard that name in..." A raspy breath. "Twenty-five years."

"A long time it has been, my friend."

"It seems...our time...is at an end..." Vader—Anakin, he supposed—was almost gone.

"Indeed it is. Into the Force, we go for all time, my young student."

"I'd...like that. Be...finally free...of this...damned suit," he said mirthlessly. "Goodbye...Master." And the armor collapsed inward as Anakin faded into the Force.

"Goodbye, old friend." And Yoda, almost a century old, passed into oblivion.

* * *

Luke Skywalker carefully prowled the catwalks for the Sith trainee that he had to stop. He paused a moment, sensing three powerful entities pass out of the Force, one after the other. _I guess they're all gone now. It's just Leia and me_.

With Palpatine and Vader gone, the Force was almost perfectly clear. There was just the one cloud...and it lay somewhere ahead of him.

As he searched, he thought, _What am I actually going to do if I defeat her? I can't kill my own sister...nor can I let such a dangerous Sith live..._

Trying to turn her back to the light was an option, but not much of one; the Dark Side had already poisoned her body and soul, and she seemed to have destroyed all of the qualities that used to embody Leia Organa, leader of the Rebellion.

Yet he knew that if he were to kill her, even mistakenly in a moment of clumsiness by either of them, he'd never forgive himself. So really, the only option left was to try and save her from herself; he owed it to the woman he once knew to at least try.

He walked into a maintenance hallway, wary about a trap. Because of this, he sensed ahead Organa waiting for him to stumble into it. He smiled wanly, and settled on a plan. _It's audacious, but it just might work..._ Silencing his footfalls with the Force, he retreated into it, shrinking his Force profile by mentally picturing himself getting smaller and smaller until he was microscopic.

So she never sensed him get on the opposite side of the barrier that she hid behind.

And she never sensed him place the emitter of his father's lightsaber on the wall at a strategic point.

* * *

The hot blue blade shot through the wall and pierced her right shoulder, stabbing five painful centimeters into her arm, severing veins and scorching bone as it dug in. Crying out, she fell out of her hiding place.

Where Skywalker and his mismatched blades waited.

He began to drive her out onto the catwalks, forcing as much power and energy as he could into moves that she'd have to block with her pain-wracked, severely weakened right.

She could not focus her rage and hatred through the sheer, agonizing pain that threatened to blind her as she backpedaled as fast as she could, being driven back, back, back, until she saw an opening when he'd forced her to the end of an open platform.

She struck through his guard—which was focused on her left—and landed a weak, glancing zap to his right shoulder. The move caused him some pain.

But it did not affect his left side, which moved perfectly through to remove her left hand.

As the appendage and red blade tumbled into the depths of Cloud City, she screamed in agony, and unconsciously dropped her blue blade to grasp her wounded arm.

His own red blade returned to his belt through the guiding of the Force as he captured her cerulean blade, holding it not close enough to harm her, but enough for her to cringe back.

"There is no escape," Luke said, his voice strange, not his own. "Don't make me destroy you," he pleaded.

Organa slowly crawled out onto a small antenna as he continued. "Leia, please. You do not yet realize the depth of your importance. Let me help you. We can end this destructive conflict, and bring order back to the galaxy."

"I'll never join you, _Jedi_," she spat through gritted teeth.

"Did the _power of the Dark Side_ save you here?" He asked mockingly, the harshness in his voice penetrating her mind. "Leia..." He tried a different tack, one that the Force inspired him to do. "Bail Organa never told you who your father was, did he?"

"He didn't have to, Skywalker! I was _his _daughter," she said through poorly concealed sobs. "My blood father was a soldier in the Clone Wars, long dead."

"No," Luke said softly. "_Vader_ is your father."

She shook her head disbelievingly. "No...No...That's not true...That's _impossible_!"

He'd penetrated through the veneer of cool hatred, at least. "Search your feelings," he said in calm tones, "you _know_ it to be true."

She broke, then. "No...no..." her voice weakened and failed her.

For a brief moment, Luke had the strongest feeling that it should be him out there, clinging to that antenna, muttering those words. But he shook it off.

"Leia...you can come back from the Dark Side." At her harsh, mirthless laugh, he fibbed mildly, "I have foreseen it." He _had_ seen a moment of indecision in his opponent, though not saving her.

"We can end the war, and return the Republic to power." He tried to reason with her.

"I have nothing left for me on the light," she said bitterly, though she did come off the antenna, realizing subconsciously that he wasn't going to finish the job. "Not since..." Her voice broke. "Not since they killed Han."

_So _that's_ the leverage Vader used to turn her._

"Leia," he whispered, kneeling beside his wounded sister, "do you think this is what Han would have wanted? You wallowing in misery and darkness?"

"What other choice do I have," she said miserably. When she looked up at him, he saw a slightly heartening sight, however; her eyes were sad pools of brown, not the piercing, hateful yellow eyes of a Sith.

"You have me, Leia; you have us, your friends. We never stopped caring, never stopped understanding. We can help you. Come back to us, Leia...come back." It was out of his hands now. He set down her lightsaber, unsure of when he had extinguished it. He replaced his own at his belt, extended his hand, and left the choice to her.

She reached out, returned the saber to her belt, and then took his hand, smiling through her tears. "Alright."

* * *

AN: This time, I decided to have the Force try to right itself to its correct path. Notice that, with the 'unnatural voices' and strangely similar circumstances? and how was this as a read? Anyone with eyes can obviously see what I'ev rather shamelessly stolen from Matt Stover, but if you're new, read the Note at the Foreword. Please review--I'd like to know how these duels seemed; writing them was surprisingly hard! So please, REVIEW!!!


	14. Episode VI: Last of the Jedi

Episode VI: Last of the Jedi

* * *

"Join me, and we can rule the galaxy as father and son." Vader reached out to him. Luke looked at the hand, and then looked down at the abyss beneath. The choice was obvious: lose your soul or your life.

"Come with me. It is the only way."

* * *

Luke awoke abruptly, sitting bolt upright in his X-Wing. He shook off the remainders of the nightmare that seemed to plague him more and more these days as he stared out into the blue blur of hyperspace. On his way to Dagobah, he thought about the dreams. They never showed him falling or taking Vader's hand, just leaving him with the problem of choice. He stared down at the gloved right hand that unconsciously flexed into a fist at the memory of the original being lost. For now, that was choice enough for him.

He noticed the timer, seeing he had only a few minutes before he came out at Dagobah. He strapped in more tightly and prepared to exit hyperspace.

* * *

"The Death Star will be completed on schedule," Vader spoke at last.

"You have done well, Lord Vader," Palpatine noted. "And now, I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker."

Vader did not nod, but said, "Yes, my Master."

"Patience, my friend." Palpatine paused. "Stay near me for now, Vader. It seems that some things have not gone as foreseen, but I am confident things shall right themselves."

"As you wish."

* * *

"Yoda will always be with you."

Luke turned, feeling resentment come up. "Obi-Wan."

The Force-ghost did not comment; who he was, to him, was somewhat obvious.

"Why didn't you tell me? You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father."

Ben sighed, and sat on a nearby log. "Your father was seduced by the Dark Side. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true...from a certain point of view."

"A _certain point of view_?" Luke almost spat.

"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

* * *

Here, the Dark Side has no influence. Nor does the Light Side, nor chance, nor any other random factor. The change is conscious choice: to believe a man who, it seems, has done nothing but lie, or not.

* * *

"Hmm." Luke's face darkened. "That sounds like a convenient way of saying you lied to me."

"Well, Luke, what would you have had me do? Tell you the truth?" At the look Skywalker directed at the apparition, he continued. "If I were to tell you the truth at the beginning, do you really think that you wouldn't go running to Vader at the first chance?"

Luke spoke acerbically, "So you decided to take the choice away from me? What right did you have to take away my choice to be with my father or not?"

Ben bowed his head. "None at all. But it stemmed from a desire to protect you, Luke. A desire to protect you, and protect your sister."

Luke shook his head, muttering, "Those who deny liberty to ensure safety deserve neither liberty, nor safety."

Ben tilted his head. "An interesting way of looking at things."

"Leia said it once," Luke said absently.

"Your sister is quite a wise woman, Luke," Ben noted.

"Leia..._Leia_ is my sister?" Luke asked, incredulous.

"Does it seem so odd to you? Explain the bond you two share, then; the way you seem to automatically know what the other is thinking. Don't abandon them, Luke," Ben imparted as he began to fade. "Distrust me if you will; I deserve no less. But don't give in to hate, and don't abandon your friends."

And he was gone.

For a long time, Luke Skywalker sat on the mossy log, thinking about Ben's last words to him, his newfound sibling, and the dream that confronted him on the way here. After a long time, a plan formed.

* * *

LATER...

* * *

"General Solo, is your strike team assembled?" Crix Madine asked his comrade.

As Leia looked at him slightly incredulously, Han raised his voice," Ah, my team's ready; I just don't have a command crew for the shuttle."

Next to him, Chewbacca roared in Shryywook.

"It's gonna be rough, pal; I didn't wanna speak for ya," Han explained. Chewie nodded again. "Well, that's one."

"Hey, _General_." Han discreetly rolled his eyes, knowing from her tone that this wasn't the last he'd hear of it. "Count me in."

Then, from the door into the conference room, "I'm with you, too."

Descending the steps was a tow-headed man in a dark tunic and an almost eerily dark cloak. He was immediately recognizable as Luke Skywalker.

As Leia embraced him, she noticed something different. "What is it?"

"Ask me that again sometime."

With his odd response, Leia let him off, allowing him to greet Han and Chewie.

* * *

"Where is that shuttle going?" Vader queried the Admiral of his fleet.

Piett leaned in to the terminal, and asked, "Shuttle _Tydirium_, what is your cargo and destination?"

There was a pause, and then there came the succinct reply, "Parts and technical crew for the Forest Moon."

Vader wasn't entirely convinced. "Do they have a code clearance?"

"It's an older code, sir, but it checks up," Piett nodded. "I was about to clear them."

Vader looked into the Force. What he saw...interested him. For one thing, they most certainly were not a technical crew. For another, his son was with them...but his Force profile was...different. Darker, almost. _Most interesting_.

"Shall I hold?" Piett asked.

After a poignant pause, "No; leave them to me. I will deal with them myself."

"As you wish, m'lord." To his subordinate: "Carry on."

As the subordinate informed the Rebels that they were clear to land, Vader moved to leave the _Executor_.

He had someone to meet on Endor.

* * *

Below them were two scout troopers—at least, two they could see.

"Could we go around?" Leia queried, setting down her scopes.

"It'll take time," Luke pointed out as he shifted uncomfortably on the moss beneath them.

"This whole party'll be for nothin' if they see us," Han added, subtly cocking his DL-44 just in case.

Chewie muttered something that was to the other two, unintelligible.

Han nodded, rising to a crouch. "Chewie n' me'll take care of this; _you two stay here_," he intoned with a completely different voice. _So that's why they gave him a General's commission._

"_Quietly_," Luke said in the same voice. "There might be more of them out there."

"Hey." And the Han they knew was back. "It's me." And there was the grin, too. As the ex-smugglers slipped into the foliage, Luke and Leia rolled their eyes simultaneously. Then they simultaneously caught the other at it.

A thought occurred to Luke. "He's right; it _is_ him."

He began to rise as Leia asked, "What are you doing?"

"You know Han, Leia; he's dead clumsy. His heart and head are in the right place, but his _feet_ aren't." Not waiting for the inevitable rebuke, Luke followed the Corellian through the underbrush.

Just ahead, he saw Han creep around the base of a tree. Across, Chewie was covering him. Luke nodded to Chewie, indicating he saw him. Then, he whispered, "Han." At the Corellian's turn, he gestured, and whispered, "Watch this." Delving into the Force, his eyes rolled back into his head. Just as Han was about to say something, he thought better of it, and took a glance at the scout troopers.

One of which stumbled a moment, then straightened up stiffly. Glancing at Luke, he saw the Jedi twitch a face muscle. Looking back, the trooper looked around. Luke muttered in a bass voice, "Two more of them...hiding behind the trees...over there..." Eyes still examining the interior of his skull, he pointed at a cluster of trees. Then his arm muscles flexed, and the trooper unholstered his blaster.

"Something wrong, JS-1122?" The second trooper asked.

As Luke muttered, the trooper spoke, barely a millisecond behind, forming an eerie, somewhat demonic double-voice. "There's something in those bushes over there..." The possessed trooper indicated some shrubbery directly opposite the hidden Rebels.

"Probably just the natives; you'd think the damn furry things would learn by now to leave us alone," the second said. "But I'll double-check, just to be safe."

* * *

Unbeknownst to the others, Chewie snuck around the base of a tree, cranked up the power level, and levelled his crossbow at the other two unsuspecting scout troopers.

* * *

It all happened very quickly. As the second trooper rummaged into the shrubbery, JS-1122 fired three times, blasting through the hapless trooper's right lung, breastbone, and helmet. It was not something one survived.

As the other two moved to look, they both found they had gaping holes blasted through their chests from the ultra-high-powered energy quarrel that Chewie punched through the two of them. As they fell, the bolt continued to blast through a large log and almost a meter into the ground. Chewie patted his crossbow lovingly, once again reminded why he did not use a common blaster rifle.

As Luke's influence waned, JS-1122 seemed to wake up. Then Luke had leapt from his hiding place, and carved through the trooper like butter with a blazing emerald blade.

The whole slaughter took maybe three seconds.

As he extinguished his saber, Luke realized that he had not been using a Light-Side power; he had been getting very close to the Dark Side there. Worse yet, the thought did not alarm him at all.

"Hey, Luke," Han came towards him. "That was some pretty good work there. Why didn't you try something like that at Jabba's?"

"I didn't have the confidence to try it just then," Luke said.

As the Rebels went onward into the forest, Luke grew wary. He moved to the front with Han and Leia, who were arguing..._again_. He tapped the two of them on the shoulder, and held up a fist. Behind them, the group stopped. Ahead was another group of troopers; this one larger, about six or seven...too many for just him to take on.

"Han." At his head-turn: "Get two or three of our best snipers up here." He pointed along the ridge they were on. "Position them along this cliff. Leia, go down there, towards that tree; cover me." As she moved, so did he, taking note of Han gesturing to four men and waving them over.

Peering out from behind a tree, Luke glanced over to Leia, who raised her blaster and nodded; she would cover him. He nodded in acknowledgement, and moved forward, drawing his blaster and saber, leaving the latter extinguished. He moved into the Force, using a Dark-Side trick he had heard of.

As Leia watched wide-eyed, Luke vanished into thin air. Then she looked downward, and saw the strange areas of moss dipping down quickly before rising back up. She realized, _That's where he's stepping_. It was not a fact the troopers realized at all. She watched the depressions go into their midst, and then come to a halt.

"AG-1104."

"Yes, sir?" One responded.

"Your informant in the kitchens let you know what the mess hall's giving us tonight?"

"Jax mentioned something about rancor meat," AG-1104 informed his commander. A chorus of groans rose from the other soldiers, 'not _again_!' and 'unbelievable!' among them. Then, curiously, one of the scout troopers gagged, and dropped his weapon, clutching at his throat.

"DA-921, what's wrong? The rancor meat isn't _that_ bad," AG-1104 joked. Then concern grew. "What's wrong with him?" Then he, too, began to gag, choking on air.

"What's going on?!" The commanding officer yelled. Moments later, a blaster shot fired, and the commander went down quick. Then there was a duo of snapping sounds, and DA-921 and AG-1104 collapsed.

"TE-413, where'd that shot come from?!"

"I don't know! I can't see anythi—" A sudden _snap-hiss_ and gurgled scream cut off TE-413's response as a bolt of green plasma shot through his chest, and vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Where is he?!"

"I can't see him!"

Then three others, circling in panic, lost their heads.

Literally; the sheer force of the high-power blaster shots to the neck from Rebel snipers took them clean off.

As Leia charged out of the foliage, she yelled, pointing off to the left, "Over there! Two more of them!" As she spoke, the two survivors shot off on modified speeder bikes.

"I see them." As Luke reappeared, he yelled, "Wait, Leia!" He barely cleared the distance with a Force-leap to another bike and speed away as Leia took off on one of her own.

Behind them, a hapless Corellian asked quite directly, "What the hell was that?"

* * *

Activating his uniform's comlink, he commed Leia, saying, "Quick, jam their comlinks; your center switch!" As he heard the static emit from his own bike's comlink, he quickly reviewed what he had just done. He'd delved into a Dark-Side power, and used it to chilling effect. And he had enjoyed it.

Shoving that rather chilling revelation out of his head, he focussed on the two soldiers ahead. He and Leia shot through the undergrowth, keeping low to the ground. Then, getting an idea, he gestured to Leia to stay low, and that when he was ready, he'd signal her with a double-click on their comms. Then, cranking on his altitude adjuster, he shot up into the treetops, and, slipping into the Force, he twisted the accelerator so far up it broke through the safety that had been installed. At breakneck speeds, he shot ahead of the troopers. When he was several klicks ahead of them, he descended, and turned his bike around. Charging up the blaster, he heard them approaching. Then, about three klicks away, he saw them burst through the tree line. He double-clicked on his comlink, then fired rapidly.

The troopers barely had time to register that someone was shooting ahead of them before Leia opened fire behind them. One was caught in the deadly crossfire, and shredded into pieces. The other pulled a blaster and fired behind him blindly, and got lucky, striking the control vanes of Leia's bike, throwing her off.

Enraged, Luke swung his bike into the trooper's path, and, leaping several meters above it with the power of the Force, he also wrenched the scout's bike into his own. Unfortunately for the scout trooper, he leapt off before the crash.

He would have been better off staying on the bike.

All self-control gone, Luke descended on the scout like a hawk-bat out of hell. Emerald energy blade sizzling, he sliced through the trooper's arm, removing the threat of a raised blaster with it. He then picked him up with the Force, and flung him into a nearby tree. Enjoying the sound of bones snapping, he held the green saber at his side, lifting the man's broken frame with the Force, and then, focussing on the man's legs, he slowly crushed each bone into fine powder. Drunk on the man's pain, he then dropped him to the ground, allowing his legs to crumple uselessly beneath him. Sadistically, he strode forward to the crippled soldier, his bar of jade plasma still burning. Smiling with delight, he gestured with the Force, forcing the man into a kneeling position (no doubt very painful, as he had no bones in his legs) where he then flicked a finger, sending the man's helmet flying away. Staring into the man's helpless, pain-wracked eyes, he swung.

As the man's head rolled away, Luke came back to himself. He dropped the body, and extinguished his saber as he thought: _What have I done?_

He hadn't noticed until now that he stood in a small brook. Kneeling, he took his hands, cupped them, and splashed large amounts of water on his face, trying to shake the feelings of amazement and horror and..._utter_ _glee_ from himself. Then, something stopped him.

His reflection's eyes were a haunting yellow, with red decorating the outside of the iris.

The eyes of a Sith.

Focusing, he stared into those eyes, watching them comfortingly change to a light blue. Finally, certain that his appearance would not alarm anyone, he went back to look for Leia. But before he took three steps, he froze again. A dark cloud was descending, far away, but he recognized it nonetheless.

Vader.

Father.

Putting it out of his mind for now, he moved on. He found his sister lying atop a mound of ferns, completely safe, and completely unconscious. Sighing, he knelt, picked her up, and began the long trek back to camp.

* * *

Back at the small ledge where the troopers had been ambushed, Han Solo reclined against the giant tree, waiting impatiently for the other two to return. Inwardly, he was slowly beginning to doubt everything he thought about Leia. He knew she said she loved him, but then again, he'd been gone for a whole year. Who knew what might have happened between her and Luke?

The two of them had been unofficially competing for her attention and affections for years, but it was unspoken between the two men that if one were to win her over, there'd be no hard feelings. Still, the thought of them off in the underbrush fooling around somewhere made him very upset for some reason. Being an amoral smuggler at the time, he didn't recognize it as love.

Then Luke appeared, carrying Leia in his arms like some stereotypical holovid hero. That in itself was some small comfort, though he was worried about Leia.

Stepping up, he called out to let Luke know where they were. "Luke!" Coming up to Luke, he looked down at the still woman in his best friend's arms. "She alright?"

"Got knocked off her bike. She seems to just be sleeping it off," Luke bent his head as well.

"Exactly what I'd do in her place," Han agreed.

Luke tilted his head, and an alarmingly familiar smile spread across his face as he said, "Now why do I have no trouble believing that of you?" The smirk was one he'd seen in the mirror plenty of times, having practiced it often; the cocky, lop-sided Solo grin.

He put on his own—which in his opinion was far better than any imitation—and asked, "So you think she's okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine." Setting her down gently on the underbrush, he continued, "Though it might be a good plan to call it a night. It's getting pretty dark."

Han nodded, signaling to the men. "Took some time for you two to get back here," he noted sideways.

Smiling, Luke gestured for Han to help him set up Leia's tent. As he did, he said, "You don't have anything to worry about, Han; nothing happened."

"Did I say I was worried?" Han didn't look up from his poles and camouflage fabric.

"You didn't have to," Luke explained, tapping his temple. "Remember?"

"Quit poking around in my head, _Jedi_," Han jokingly ordered as he jabbed at Luke with a tent pole.

"Didn't need to; the worry was radiating off you," Luke informed him. "Besides, I really couldn't do anything, even if I did want to," he added.

"Gentleman that you are," Han muttered.

Luke seemed to flush, though in the dimming light, he couldn't tell. "Not so much that as...well..."

Han looked amusedly at the younger man as he seemed to fumble for the words. "Come on, Kid; spit it out."

Luke wavered, before just finally saying, "She's my sister."

_That_ certainly caught the smuggler's attention.

"Your _sister_?!"

"Would be kind of inappropriate, eh?" Luke half-joked as he slung the camo-netting over the poles.

Meanwhile, Han was still trying to wrap his head around it. "Your _sister_..."

"Han?"

"Yeah?"

"Close your mouth; you'll gather flies," the farmboy smirked.

Han glared, though he shut his previously dropped jaw. Then Leia began to wake up. Dropping his stuff, Han dashed over to kneel by her side, asking, "Hey, Princess, you alright?"

She moaned softly, rubbing her hand against her head.

"Highness-ness? You okay?" Han asked.

Then Leia said something that she most definitely did NOT learn in the Alderaanian Court.

Poorly disguising laughter, Luke said to Han, "I think she's okay."

Han looked up at Luke, and, doing a bad job of covering laughter himself, said "I didn't teach her that, I swear."

* * *

_Night is strange on this planet_, Leia noted as she crawled out of her tent. _It's dark enough to sleep, but not enough to have one's sight hindered_. Indeed, there was a low fog clearly visible, made al the more obvious by the small fires burning that the Rebels had lit.

It was by this light that she saw Luke beginning to leave camp.

"Luke!" She called in a soft voice. As he turned, she dashed up, asking, "Where are you going?"

"I have to leave, Leia. Every moment I'm here, I endanger the mission further. I need to be away from the others for a while."

"Away from the others, or away from _me_?" Leia asked, badly concealing hurt.

Luke sighed. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I can see there's no avoiding it," he said wearily. "Vader's here; now, on this moon. He can feel that I'm here, too; that's why I have to go."

"Why?"

Luke looked away, towards the camp. "The group has an objective; take out the generator. If Vader can sense me, then he will find me, and if I'm with the group, I'll destroy the whole mission. This way, you have a chance if they capture me."

"Luke, please; we need someone with your abilities, your powers. I'm a leader, not a Jedi. Your powers are something that I don't have...could never have," she tried to persuade him.

He smirked mirthlessly. "Now that's where you're wrong, Leia. You have that power, too. In time, you'll learn to control it as I have."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "I suppose there's no easy way to say this, so I guess I'll just say it; you're my sister, Leia."

Interestingly, she didn't find herself taken aback. "Wow. Looking back...that actually makes a lot of sense." Then, "Let me go with you."

"No, Leia, I can't. Han's a good man, a good leader, but he's like a dog who's dish has been moved when you're not around him. You two need to lead this attack. I'll try to assist if I can. If not..." He trailed off. "I'll see you in another life. Goodbye, Leia."

As he moved to walk away, she started to follow. Then she heard Han behind her, "Hey, what're you doing up this late?" She glanced behind her to see him, then looked back.

Luke had vanished.

"Hey, we need you sharp in the morning," Han persisted.

"Oh? So what's your excuse, then..._General_?" Her troubles momentarily forgotten, she couldn't resist barbing him.

"It's my watch," he said simply.

"You're a general; you don't _have_ to take a watch," Leia pointed out, exasperated.

"I'm one of the guys; of _course_ I take a watch," Han retorted.

She looked at him sideways. "Are you arguing that because it's what you think, or because I said you didn't have to?"

"It really is what I think," Han said sincerely. As she felt some internal surprise at his response, he _just_ _had_ to add, "The arguing with you part is just an added bonus."

"Flyboy," she retorted instinctively.

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted smartly.

Leia sighed. "Alright; how long until your shift is over?"

"About another twenty minutes. Why?" He grinned. "Want to keep me company?"

"If you wouldn't mind." She was much too stressed to argue with him right now.

As they both sat on the ledge overlooking so much of the forest, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"I'm a leader, too; I should take a watch, too."

"Come on." _Damn; he didn't take it._ "I don't buy that. What's bothering you?"

She sighed. "Luke just told me I'm his sister."

For once, Han didn't have a comeback. "Huh. And?"

"'And' what?" Leia asked.

"'And' what does that mean to you, how does that affect you? Leia," he turned to face her, "I'm trying to be supportive here, I really am."

"And I appreciate it," she said sincerely as she leaned into his shoulder.

Intelligently, he didn't say anything.

"It makes so much sense now, looking back, but it still seems so odd," she confided.

"Hmm," Han murmured. "Want to hear what I think?" Not waiting for a response, he continued, "I think that some part of you knew all along. I think that maybe part of you doesn't quite want to accept it, and I think you know why that is. And I think that right now, all you want is to know that someone cares about you who _isn't_ related to you."

She looked up at him, asking honestly, "Since when have I been so transparent?"

He smiled, placing an arm around her. Taking comfort in it, she didn't protest. "You've always been kinda obvious to me."

"Thanks, Han." As she began to drift back to sleep, he murmured something into her ear.

"I love you."

Smiling drowsily as blackness encroached upon her vision, she only said, "I know."

* * *

Neither of them could possibly know that, as they sat there together, Luke stood behind them, invisible, smiling at his two friends.

Nor could they know that, as he slipped away into the night, his eyes were the color of amber.

Nor could they know that their friend was slowly slipping into the Dark Side.

* * *

"This is a Rebel that surrendered to us. Although he denies it, I believe there may be more of them out there, and request permission to start a further search of the area." Oblivious to the fact the Vader neither listened nor cared, he finished, "He was armed only with this." A lightsaber was presented to him.

"Good work, Commander. Leave us. Conduct your search and bring his companions to me," Vader said absently.

If the Commander noticed, he was smart enough to not comment. "Yes, m'lord."

As the troopers left, Vader turned to walk with his son. "The Emperor is expecting you."

"I know, Father."

"So…you have accepted the truth."

Unable to resist the compulsion to be slightly suicidal, Luke added, "From a certain point of view."

"There is no point of view _here_," Vader intoned as he almost brandished Luke's saber at him. "I am your father; there is little way around that."

"But there _is_ a way around it; Anakin Skywalker was my father. You were Anakin Skywalker, though no doubt you will say the name has no meaning to you. Still, I find it improbable that a machine such as _you_ could ever produce children."

Neither broke step once as they strode deeper into the base. "Play with words as you will. It was one of your mother's favorite things to do to irritate me. Nevertheless, the fact remains that I am your father; you are my son."

"Does that condemn me to your fate, then?"

Interested, Vader thought for a moment. "Not necessarily. It was an accident that placed me in this nightmare suit. If you were to be willing in your submission to the Dark Side, it would most likely not end as badly for you as it did for me."

"There will be no submission to the Dark Side on my part," Luke said arrogantly. Vader held back a laugh; his son sounded exactly as he did at that age. Then he continued. "_It_ will submit to _me_."

Taken aback, Vader came to a halt. He peered into the Force…and what he found amazed him.

Before now, his son seemed very small, raw, untrained in the Force. But now, having revealed himself, Luke's profile in the Force was incredible. He had seen his Master's profile many a time before; the dark storm had always held him in mild reverence. But to Luke, the Emperor was a mere shadow. His son…

Skywalker was a hurricane of power and darkness.

"How did you develop your powers so well?" Vader barely concealed his awe as he looked into the newly revealed tawny eyes of the Dark Jedi before him.

"I encountered about seven or eight patrols on the way here before the ninth 'captured' me," Luke said maliciously. "I delved into some powers I didn't know I had along the way. Needless to say, they will not be reporting back."

For once in his almost thirty years of wearing the mask, he appreciated its presence; it concealed his glee and interest rather well.

His son continued. "I know that Sith rule of two; that means that if the Emperor wished to take me on as an apprentice, you would have to be eliminated, does it not?"

"It does." Vader would only give him the facts, nothing more; no incentives, no requests…nothing at all.

"A year ago, you said I could destroy the Emperor." Where is he going with this? "And that we could bring order to the galaxy…rule it as father and son." _Ahhh_. "We destroy the Death Star and the Emperor, and rule this Empire." He extended his hand. "You offered me this, and your hand, a year ago. Now I offer it to you. Do we have an accord?"

Behind the ebony mask of nightmares, Vader grinned.

* * *

Two men ascended the many steps up to the Emperor's Throne. Both were clothed in the utmost black; both wore long, flowing cloaks. One wore binders.

The Skywalkers came to the feet of the Emperor as his throne rotated to view them.

The Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, examined the younger. "Welcome, young Skywalker. I have been expecting you." Noting his hands, "you no longer need those." He gestured, and the binders unlocked, falling to the floor. He raised his voice. "Guards, leave us." Though he did not turn, Luke knew the Redrobes were retreating, leaving the three of them alone.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, "I look forward to completing your training. In time, you learn to call me Master."

"You're wrong. You will not control me as you did my father."

_Arrogant Jedi whelp_. "Oh, no, my young friend. In time, you will discover it is you who are mistaken…about a great many things," he hinted tauntingly.

"Oh?" Skywalker tilted his head. "What might that include? My…" He paused, melodramatically, he knew, to search for the right word, "_philosophy_ of the Force?" As the Emperor noted the boy, amused, he continued. "Because it seems to me that the one who holds the power," familiar blue-white fire sprouted from his fingertips, creating the image of a flame in his hand, as Palpatine's amusement slipped away, "is the one who is right." _Oh…_

Then Skywalker truly appeared in the Force. And the intensity of the storm before him amazed him, even as a critical part of him realized that he was in serious trouble.

Then the lightning struck.

The power that Skywalker pressed into the assault flung him back into the transparisteel, almost fracturing it. Past that, the pain was incredible, and it seemed that Skywalker absorbed his agony, taking it from him before he could use it to fuel his own powers. That was a power that he, Sidious himself, had yet to fully master, yet young Skywalker was doing it with _ease_.

Then the full veracity of Skywalker's power was revealed to him, as the sick yellow eyes were visible, and the lightning churned. And an entirely new, alarming feeling overcame Palpatine.

Fear.

* * *

Luke could scarcely believe the incredible power the Dark Side granted him...and how _good_ it felt. As he poured all his rage and anger into Palpatine, he drank in his prey's pain and screams, channeling Palpatine's own misery back into him. He then broke off the lightning, and stepped up to the wheezing, pain-wracked man before him. He gestured, lifting the Emperor with the Force, than flung him into the turbolift shaft. Sighing contentedly at the sound of cracking bones and vertebrae, he strode down the steps to the broken Sith Lord beneath him. When he moaned, but did not rise, Skywalker realized that he'd broken the Emperor's back.

_How marvelous_.

He gestured again, lifting the crippled old man over the railing, holding him in a hover over the chasm leading to the core of the Death Star. Then, an idea occurred to him, and he ignited his emerald blade.

Making Palpatine watch as he did so, he removed his limbs one by one, sending them tumbling down the shaft into energized oblivion. Then, his entire lower half, leaving—barely—his torso and head.

As the dying man, who'd reveled in evil for so long, stared into Skywalker's eyes, realization dawned that compared to the man who'd destroyed him...

Palpatine was a joke.

Then Skywalker dropped him.

As the remains of the Emperor fell, Luke drank in the screams of terror before he sensed the Sith Lord reach the bottom. And there was an explosion of blue-white energy as he died. Sensing opportunity, Luke grabbed the Dark-Side energies Palpatine's remains had flung out, and absorbed them into himself, feeling the influx of power.

Then, he turned to face his father. Vader nodded to his son, saying, "Most impressive. Do you feel the true power the Dark Side can offer?"

"It's unlike anything I had ever imagined," the younger man said.

"Come. Kneel before me, my son."

Luke dropped to one knee. He lowered his head.

"Is it your will to join your destiny forever with the Order of the Sith Lords?"

There was no hesitation. "Yes."

Darth Vader placed a mechanical hand on Luke's brow. "Then it is done. You are now one with the Order of the Dark Lords of the Sith. From this day forward, the truth of you, my friend, now and forevermore, will be Darth..."

A pause; a questioning in the Force—

An answer, dark as the gap between galaxies—

He heard Vader say it; his new name.

Revan.

A duet of syllables that meant him.

_Revan_, he said to himself. _Revan_.

"Lord Revan?"

"Yes, Master?"

A deep, gravelly voice came that was not his. "Rise."

* * *

TIME GOES BY...

* * *

The Death Star was destroyed. The Rebels were suspicious of how easily the action was, as no fleets came, no soldiers fought them on the ground; indeed, it seemed they had orders to surrender to any Rebels that approached them. Even stranger, it seemed that their orders had come down from the Emperor himself. When pressed, however, none would say that Palpatine ordered them, only saying the Emperor.

Illumination came when it was revealed the next day on the Holonet that the Emperor was dead, and Lord Vader would succeed him. But what truly shook the Rebel Alliance was the presence of Luke Skywalker next to Vader. He was introduced to the galaxy as Darth Revan, Vader's hand-picked replacement. It was announced by the new Sith Lord that the Rebel Alliance would be allowed to exist, so long as they expatriated to and remained in the Unknown Regions. It was made clear that this was not open for debate when the entire Imperial Navy shoved them into the Regions to fend for themselves.

As the Alliance retreated into the Unknown Regions, Leia Organa was confronted by three Force-ghosts, calling themselves Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu and Yoda. A willing student, Leia learned as much from them as from her own trial-and-error experiences. She and General Solo were married, though it was a quiet affair, with only Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO viewing the event. From their union quickly came twins, named Jacen and Jaina. As Leia grew in the Force, she taught her children of the arts of the Force as well.

Meanwhile, the Empire flourished under Vader and Revan. Sedition laws were eased, slavery was outlawed—and the law was enforced vengefully on anyone who dared violate it—and the Senate was allowed to reconvene. Vader still retained ultimate power, however.

Darth Revan regularly wandered from Coruscant, visiting Dark worlds like Vjun and Korriban, growing in his powers.

As the Dark Side grew, so did the Light—in Revan's sister and niece and nephew. The three trained in the dream that they might eliminate Vader, and save their uncle and brother.

The day of reckoning grew nearer. Eventually, the guides the three Organa-Solos had come to rely on informed them that their abilities in the Force were phenomenal, and that they would have to move on Vader and Revan soon. The twins went to confront Vader in his castle on Vjun, as their mother set out to stop her brother on one of the darkest corners of the universe.

* * *

TWENTY YEARS LATER...

* * *

_Vjun. I sense the Dark Side here. It is such a subtle thing, but it is there, slowly eroding away at the will, digging into the mind. It's no wonder the planet's former population went insane._

I can sense Vader here.

_He's slippery, barely detectable, but he is here._

His castle is just two klicks away.

_I doubt our shields can hold out that long._

Then we use the Force to shield us.

_I hope we don't have to. We'll need all the strength we have to defeat him._

Well...ready to run, Jacen?

_No time like the present, Jaina. Let's go._

The twins simultaneously activated their shields, and leapt from the cave they'd been in. They dashed across the soft soil, barely having their feet in one place long enough to leave an imprint. The acidic rain sizzled against their personal shields, supplied to them personally by Rebel covert agent Kyle Katarn—also a Force user, though to a lesser degree. As the batteries slowly wore out, they neared the entrance of Bast Castle. Then, just as the shields finally gave out, they leapt into the doorway, just barely in time.

Panting, the twins each looked the other over, ensuring that neither has gotten hit. Once both ascertained that they were alright, they rose to their feet, and each ignited a blade. Blades of gold and violet formed an archway in the door. Once they had an entryway into the castle, both slipped into the Force...and out of sight.

* * *

_Malachor. It reeks of the Dark Side. Even with Luke's—_

_Revan._

_Even with Revan's presence here, I still can tell that this planet is one of the dark places in the universe where few tread. Just stepping onto the ground makes me feel…unclean. Like I'm going to carry some of the Dark Side around with me forever. And the Force is so oppressively dark, I have trouble drawing on the Light Side. I mean, I can hop across the immense chasm separating the canyons and the Trayus Academy, but I cannot heal the sting from the scratches of the storm beats, or even attempt to center myself._

_I can follow his path, though._

_His footprints leave scars on the ground._

_His evil is so permeating, he scars planets. Not that there's much scarring to be done on this planet._

_I don't want to kill him. _

_I don't want to kill my brother._

_But I shall do what I must._

And, deciding to remember the good man her brother was, Leia Organa, Jedi Knight, entered the Trayus Academy.

* * *

_Hmm. Jedi are here._

_I cannot find them, but I know they are here. I thought they were all wiped out long ago. It seems I was mistaken, however. Oh, well. I shall rectify the situation soon enough._

Emperor Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, sat down in his throne—a simple one, modeled after the one from the second Death Star—and waited for the Jedi to show themselves.

Apart from donning a more sweeping black cloak and robe over his armor, he had changed little in the fifteen years since his accession to the throne. He had changed the Empire much, however; he would like to think it had been for the better, implementing and enforcing many of the ideas and laws that his late wife would have wanted. Slavery was non-existent; the Hutts complained, of course, but most shut up once half the Imperial Navy entered orbit around Nal Hutta on battle-ready status. The ones that didn't, his son was more than eager to..._put them back in their place_, he supposed, was a nice euphemism for what he did to the slimy slugs.

Covering them in sodium chloride was a particularly powerful lesson, Revan informed him.

He hoped that his son would find what he was looking for. For the past three or four years, his apprentice had been traveling the galaxy, on the trail of the original Lord Revan, going from Dantooine and Manaan to Korriban and the Unknown World. His son had in fact insisted that he go to the Unknown World himself. And he had, to be amazed by the power and secrets of the Dark Side buried there. That was where he and his apprentice learned to poison a foe with the Dark Side, and even inflict paralyzing fear onto a person.

He looked forward to practicing them on these Jedi.

* * *

_The core of the Academy is a platform placed over a deep chasm going down to the core of Malachor V itself. The platform is like a demon's hand, with many talon-like protrusions coming from it and extending into the poisonous night sky._

_And in the center is a man, kneeling in meditation. I can sense his evil. He is a symbol of night. He is a Dark Lord of the Sith._

_He was my brother. _

"Welcome, Leia. It has been some time." _He's looking at me now, with those sick yellow eyes of a Sith._ "I must say, you have changed in the past few years."

"I haven't changed, Revan; only you have," _I retort sharply as I move forward_.

"Really?" _Revan cocks his head at me_. "Perhaps it is only your perception of me that has changed. It is strange that you think that you have not."

_I can see there's no way I can save him. Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry._ "I've come to kill you, Revan." _Might as well be straightforward._

_He sighs_. "Well, if that is what you want. Let us end this."_ He stands, and there is in each hand a saber. He ignites them; he has his old emerald blade in his mechanical hand, and a crimson blade in the other._

_Then amber, violet, gold, and azure blades ignite in the air around him. It seems he can manipulate multiple sabers._

_Oh._

_This is _not_ good.

* * *

_

Jacen and Jaina Solo entered the Emperor's Throne Room. The Jedi Knights, both invisible to all, steadily climbed the stairs to the throne. As they reached the topmost level of the Throne Room, they entered visibility. Almost immediately, the Redrobes three levels below began to rush up to them.

Then a deep, rumbling voice came. "Guards: stand down." Immediately, the Royal Guard halted and snapped to attention. "Leave us." The eight red men bowed, and departed into the shadows.

The throne rotated to reveal the Emperor Vader. The armored Sith Lord regarded the Jedi Knights. Dressed in robes of simple white and light grey with stark white cloaks, they were the perfect antithesis of their opponent and their surroundings. Though not visible, all knew exactly where the three lightsabers in the room were.

"Welcome, Jedi." He nodded at his young foes. Though he sensed their age, he could also tell that they were a fighting duo not to be underestimated.

"Lord Vader," the two nodded.

"I see little point in prolonging the inevitable," he said as he rose. Even though he was older than Obi-Wan had been when he died, he was stronger than ever, and felt that he could hold his own against them with ease.

From within the folds of his dark robes, a cylinder of metal shot down to his right hand, igniting into a blade of crimson the moment it entered his hand.

Similar twitches of the Force brought blades of violet and gold into the Jedis' right hands.

Vader saluted in Djem So form, and moved to ready stance.

Jacen saluted in Ataro's fashion, and levelled his blade.

Jaina snapped her blade into a precise Makashi salute, and waited.

Vader lunged.

And the dance began.

* * *

Seven blades flashed in the midst of an intense duel.

The six blades wielded by the Sith Lord Revan spun and attacked in the air in a dizzying maze of light and heat.

The one blade wielded by the Jedi Knight Leia Organa-Solo flashed in a blinding flurry of activity, parrying and dodging and attacking an almost impenetrable defense.

The six blades of Revan spun in varying Forms of II, III, IV, V, and VII as he moved in the dual-blade variant of Form IV.

The one blade Leia held moved gracefully through Form III, never once faltering in a perfect defense of her own. Her silver blade flashed repeatedly as she constantly moved, never once stopping or faltering in a shining cloud of action.

Then she saw a glimpse of imperfection and—

Zap.

An azure blade faded abruptly.

Down to five.

Continuing as Revan's eyes darkened, and the Force swirled. His swords of plasma moved faster, angrier.

Leia and her Soresu did not falter.

Another flaw.

A swing.

The violet-tinged plasma died out.

Four to one.

Enraged, Revan stepped up the pace, swinging with sheer rage and hatred, making a blinding storm of red, green, orange and yellow that a lesser opponent would have been torn to shreds by. As it was, Leia was burned many times by being just a millisecond too slow. With the fight wearing on, and the Sith Lord not tiring in the slightest, the first tendrils of worry began to reach the Jedi Knight. What if she could not defeat her brother? What would become of the Alliance?

What would become of her children?

As their faces flashed before her, she redoubled her efforts, managing to force Revan back, and saw a perfect opportunity.

She swung.

The amber and gold blades were destroyed.

Defeat was not an option.

* * *

Violet met crimson.

Crimson met gold.

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, second Emperor of the Galactic Empire danced an intricate waltz of lightsabers with the Jedi Knights Jacen and Jaina Solo, Captain of Delta Team and Commander of Rogue Squadron. Scarlet and violet and gold met and flashed again and again as Vader parried and attacked.

A swing of yellow was blocked by Vader's saber.

A simultaneous lunge of purple was not blocked by Vader's blade but by an outstretched hand.

But instead of cleaving through the Sith Lord's hand, as the Jedi expected, Jaina's blade shorted out. At the expected pause, Vader broke off the dance, and momentarily stepped away.

"Never heard of cortosis ore, Jedi?" He sounded amused. "It is one of the rare materials that are lightsaber-resistant. My armor is laced with it." At the look of dawning comprehension on the boy's face, "Yes; this is going to be a lot more difficult than you anticipated." Interestingly, the girl did not react. _What is she up to?

* * *

_

I can't get through his guard!

_Forget that, I can't get through his armor! How can we stop him, if we cannot get through his armor?_

The female side smirked. There is more than one way to kill an armored man, brother.

The male side groaned. I _know; you probably know all of them._

It's not my fault you didn't want that implant.

_Well, forgive me for not wanting part of an assassin droid stuck in my head._

Whatever. You're just jealous.

_Am not._

Are too.

_Cyborg._

Degenerate.

_Hot-shot pilot._

Ground-pounder twit.

As the two halves bickered instinctively in their mind-meld, they moved through their intricate moves, Jacen's acrobatic Form IV the perfect counterpart to Jaina's precise Form II. Against their mother, who was a fine swordsman, their two-in-one assault crushed through her Form III.

Vader's Form V did not surrender any ground against them.

_Hmm. This isn't working._

Maybe we switch tactics, eh?

_Oh, very well._

Then, smooth as a well-oiled machine, Jacen's flamboyant Ataro slid into a mirror of Vader's powerful Djem So, and Jaina's elegant Makashi swung full-bore into unrelenting Vaapad.

Taken off guard by the twin-bladed powerhouse before him, Vader backpedaled, giving ground rapidly.

_Now this is more like it!_

D'you think he noticed my lack of surprise?

_Your lack of—you didn't act surprised?!_

Well, I am not an actor, thank you very much. I looked very much the soldier, I think; calm, in control...

_You wish.

* * *

_

_My silver flashes against his scarlet._

_His emerald strikes my silver._

_I, Leia, and he, Revan, former siblings, fight on and on, and I am beginning to wear down. Revan is starting to show off, too, climbing walls to dodge (he uses the Force to hold himself to the pillars) and leaping theatrically high into the dark Malachor sky._

_For all my training, for all my efforts, I am faltering; even the faces of my children cannot encourage me further._ _It must be Revan's influence on the Force; his darkness blots out any light I can absorb. But I cannot draw energy from that storm; I cannot. I will die before I do._

_And as Revan has stopped posturing and bored in on me, it seems more and more that that is exactly what I am going to do. _

_All I need is a moment of arrogance and weakness, just a moment where Revan's defenses are down—_

_There!_

_I swing into his left._

_A split-second dodge saves his hand._

_It does not, I note with some pleasure, spare his lightsaber._

_The crimson blade vanishes as his jade and my silver clash in a battle for supremacy. _

_If I will not surrender to the Dark Side, perhaps I can use some more worldly influences...Ahhh; there's the adrenaline. As the energy flows back into my weary muscles, if only for so long, I off-handedly wonder why he's here, on Malachor, of all places. Well, I see no harm in asking, and so I speak for the first time since my declaration of homicidal intent towards my brother._

"Why are you here, Revan?"

_As he casually flicks aside my attack, he responds._ "I am following the trail of a Jedi and a Sith from almost five thousand years ago; the Sith is my namesake, but the Jedi...all references refer to the Jedi as the Exile, so I must assume that there was something unique in the Exile's story. Both were powerful in the Force; both were drawn to here, it seems."

"What is so special about here?"

_He laughs. It is a frightening thing, so far from the cheerful chuckle I remember from twenty years ago._ "Do you not feel it? The despair, the betrayal, the pain? From what I can tell, the Mandalorian Wars ended here, and badly at that; Revan betrayed thousands of Republic soldiers and Jedi when he had the Exile have the fleet activate primitive, yet effective, gravity well projectors. They crushed the planet of Malachor and its two large moons into this monstrosity of a planet. When Revan ordered that—this is very convenient, you'll love this—all the soldiers and Jedi who were on the planet were those who weren't loyal to him first, the Republic second. The emotions the dying left behind here were so powerful and great in number that it scarred the core of this world, making it a focus of the Dark Side." _He smiles as he says_, "That it why I am so strong here. And why your strength is slowly being sapped away."

_Then I have a premonition—_

_Too late._

_A flash of pain._

_And as I look confusedly at where my right hand used to be, comprehension comes to me._

_At the same time, so does the realization that my silver saber is in my brother's hand._

_As I fall to my knees, pain-wracked, vision becoming blurry, I see he moves to place his emerald blade in a cross-x pattern at my neck with my own silver blade. Well, I won't have him toy with me over this. The kids wouldn't want me to suffer that._

_Oh, stars, the kids; what'll happen to them?_

"I wouldn't worry about your children; they'll be perfectly safe and sound with us...their uncle and their grandfather."

_I barely even register the thought that he can read my mind as one thought barges into focus: Their WHAT?!_

"Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you that back on Endor, didn't I?" He smirks. "Vader is our father."

_Then, having completely devastated me with that knowledge, he just randomly says,_ "You know, silver is really your color, but I'd never have picked it out as your lightsaber color. I actually didn't know it even worked until now. Thank you for that."

"Just do what you will and be done with it," _I spit at him._

"Well, if that's the way you feel about it," _he tilts his head._

_Then, _"I'll have word reach Han that you died well. I owe you that much."

_As I look up, I see that his eyes have faded from golden evil to saddened sapphires that I haven't seen in twenty years._

_Luke—?_

_A flash of pain._

_And I enter the peaceful oblivion that is the Force.

* * *

_

Luke Skywalker felt tears dampen his eyes as he watched his beloved sister fade into oblivion. Extinguishing his old emerald saber, he also closed down his new silver blade as he wiped a tear from his eye. _Goodbye, Leia._

Then, freed of his last tether to any good at all, the Dark Side reclaimed Luke Skywalker, and as he left the core of the Trayus Academy, bound for Vjun, he became Darth Revan for all time.

* * *

_Jaina, he's not tiring._

I can see that, laser-brain.

_Can we hold the bickering for—_

Oh!

_Mom!_

For a moment, the twins faltered in their dance of sheer power, feeling the pain of loss as their mother was torn from their lives, and taken into the Force.

But it was only a moment.

Jacen redoubled his efforts, channeling Vader's Form V with reckless abandon, believing that truly the only thing he had left to lose in this world was his sister, who could more than take care of herself.

Jaina, meanwhile, submerged deep into Vaapad, allowing her pain and rage at her mother's meaningless loss fuel the power that Form VII embodied.

_Think it's time to reveal our little surprise?_

Might as well; our edge won't last forever.

_On my mark...three...two...mark!

* * *

_

As Vader moved to block another assault from the powerful twins, he suddenly had his saber hand shoved violently upward by the Force, and in slow-motion, he watched the two Jedi depress small switches on their saber pommels, and something changed about their blades, making them emit the sound of shorting-out wiring.

It wasn't until they sliced through his open guard, removing his right hand with a flash of gold and his lower arm with a swing of violet that he realized that they had engaged some kind of stutter-switch that counteracted his cortosis.

He was amazed at their ingenuity. "Very clever, young Jedi," he praised them as he called his blade back to him. But he left it closed down. To his relief, they followed suit, and shut down their blades; he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep them at bay.

"I sense your power, Jedi, even if you do not quite yet realize it. But you can feel the edges of it, can you not? The power and freedom of the Dark Side?"

In the Jedi, he could sense their conflicting emotions. Taking advantage of the apparent time-out, Vader probed their Force-signatures. What he found...intrigued him. They were twins...and there was something familiar about them, though he could barely place it... Then, he looked at the girl again, and it hit him; she was a mirror image of Padmé Amidala.

With that realization, others came crashing in with incredible speed, chief among them being that these Jedi twins were his grandchildren. But how...?

He set that aside for now; perhaps his son could illuminate things. _And his explanation had better be good_, Vader thought darkly. _I warned him not to take Palpatine's path with debauchery and lascivious behavior._

"I do not offer you the option of being my apprentices; nor do I plan on killing you." Part of him was a little disappointed that he would not be trying out those Force Poison and Force Fear powers. But this was potentially far more rewarding. "I was once a Jedi myself. I was not told of many things; secrets were kept from me. That is the failing of the Jedi, and the Light Side. All I offer is a chance to have both sides...both halves of the whole that is the Force...a chance to know all there is to know in the Force."

The boy seemed to have some kind of exchange with the girl. Though it was obviously something of a twin bond, he could get vague impressions, and they were along the lines of _why not_ and _nothing left to lose anyway_.

Finally, the two turned.

The girl: "You will not try to turn us?"

"No."

The boy: "you will merely attempt to teach?"

"Yes."

More consideration. Then, simultaneously, the impression of '_We might as well_.'

The white-robed Jedi bowed, and made their choice clear.

And so would begin the fall of the last of the Jedi.

* * *

AN: See the Epilogue. Everyone like the reference to salt on slugs (I.E., sodium cholride on Hutts)? And I used a lot of different writing styles for this fic; tell me how they worked. PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	15. Epilogue & End Note

_--Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are 'it might have been'.--_

Well, I've finally finished my Light and Dark renditions of the classic trilogy. If anyone wants me to move into the Expanded Universe, feel free to just let me know, and I'll have a look at the books and games that I think will work. Otherwise, I am making the announcement that I plan on taking select Episodes from here and expanding them into full-blown fictions instead of stand-alones. Stay tuned!!!


	16. The Story Continues

The Story Continues...

Hey everyone! I just posted "Star Wars: The Chosen One". It's a continuation of the Light-Side Episode I one-shot that was the first one I wrote and posted here. Please check it out!!!

In two weeks or so, I'll be posting another notice here about the next continuation of these one-shots. I hope to get a full series started. See y'all soon!


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